Barton Hollow
by Katherine-E-Kora
Summary: The little white house at the edge of the woods...that's where they were, and that's where they would stay for quite some time...but what about when they leave? The boys are getting more and more suspicious of the woods beyond their sanctuary. And even more disturbing, they're not alone. They may have survived spring, but can the boys win against the heat of a Georgia Summer?
1. A House Divided

**Finally.**

**CROSSOVER TIEM.**

**A big shout-out to all of you people who read and reviewed my last fic, Only If For A Night. You made it the most liked fic I've written. THANK YOU.**

**I hope you like this one too~**

**So, without further ado, in commemoration of The Walking Dead's third season (WHICH WILL BE FANTASTIC BTW), I'm bringing you…THIS THINGY I WROTE. YAY.**

…**.**

**PROLOGUE: A House Divided**

A fair haired boy leveled a pistol in front of him, following the creature in the window with deadly silence. He pulled the trigger. Nearly black blood splayed out where the window had been previously. The boy next to him nodded and sprinted forward, slashing at something violently with a machete-type knife. A few more walkers shambled into view, but Jack easily dispatched them. Ralph slid another mag into his gun and tentatively followed his comrade out into the open.

"Nice." He commented dryly. Jack smiled wickedly and whipped the blade haphazardly across his ratty black cloak.

"Stealth is over-rated." Jack shot back. But then, drawing the seriousness back into his voice, he asked, "So, what now? Do we wait for them to catch up or do we keep on going? I mean…I know what we talked about earlier…"

"I…haven't decided what to do. I was actually just thinking about going back. Just for a second, but still, it crossed my mind." Ralph frowned. He wondered how everyone else was faring.

"Up to you, Cap." Jack leaned against a tree patiently. This section of the woods had been swept many times over by the two, and had long been cleared albeit the tiny barn ahead of them. It was barely a barn. Maybe it was more suitable to be called a toolshed with windows.

But this area was the least of Ralph's worries. Back about five miles, a real fight was surging. He could hear the screams now…He shuddered. There was a lot of decisions to be made, and no time to make them. Jack looked up for a moment.

Ralph bowed his head to pray.

…

"SIMON!" Roger shouted, "Get out of here! Get out now!" He clenched his teeth as a fresh wave of pain rushed his body. Blood poured from his shoulder and neck.

Simon, meanwhile, had no idea what to do.

His hands stumbled and shook over the wound.

"I can fix it!" He continued to insist, "I can! Just give me five more minutes…When Ralph gets here, we'll be fine! You'll see…Just hold on!"

Roger reached up with his good hand and grabbed Simon's arm. The smaller boy winced in pain. "Stop pretending! You're not a real medic! Ralph left us for bait, you idiot! I'm a dead man. Run, now! You can make it!"

Simon shook his head. "No!"

"GO!"

"No! I can't leave anyone else behind! I can't take it anymore!" Simon sobbed pitifully and Roger sighed. There was no winning with this one. Outside the doors of the small bathroom, walkers moaned and pressed in on all sides. They could smell and hear fleshly creatures on the other side of the door. The rest of the house was on fire. The only escape was the single, small window; and they were on the second floor. Simon refused to move, and the fall alone would probably cost Roger more blood than his body could bear to lose. How had it come to this!? Damn it all…

Roger decided, right then, that Simon had to leave.

"Hey, watch out for yourself, got it?" Roger said through gritted teeth. He hated this already. But if he had to go, it would be a hero's death, one worthy of him.

Simon turned his head a bit. "What?"

Before Simon had time to react, Roger had thrown him out the window.

"NO!"

…**..**

**Other chapters will be longer.**

**MUCH LONGER**

**Just warning you. **

**Thanks for reading! If you have time, review!**


	2. What's Your Zombie Plan?

**Yes, the first chapter comes way before the prologue.**

**Btw, just for clarity, Alex is Piggy. I don't know why, but when there's a character who doesn't have a name yet, even in my original stories, I always name them Alex XP**

…**..**

**SEASON ONE: SPRING  
**

**CHAPTER ONE: What's Your Zombie Plan?**

A boy with blonde hair stirred in his slumber, half-woken by the moaning of the people outside.

"You up yet?" A voice reached him. It was a tired, hollow voice; one that had seen one too many nightmares lately. The fair-haired boy sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes. The owner of the voice stood up. He was a sturdily built youth, with bright red hair and dark blue eyes. His clothes were slightly discolored; from what, the other boy didn't even begin to fathom.

"Jack, what's that awful noise? What's everyone up to now?" He asked the red-head. Jack turned and lent his questioner a hand, allowing him to stand upright.

"That's not them, Ralph." Jack said plainly, "There's no noise…What are you talking about?"

"What do you mean?" Ralph asked, surprised and awake at once. He looked around the room, a small living area with sleeping bags spread out along the carpeted floor. All of them except for one were empty. "I…I was sure I heard a noise just now."

"Nope." Jack laughed, "You probably were just dreaming, stupid."

"I was not!" Ralph retorted. He frowned. "Hold on, where's everyone else?"

Jack shrugged apathetically. "Dunno. They're probably out causing more trouble for me. I swear, if Roger TP's my house again…Well, I'm going to kill him."

Ralph laughed as he remembered the last time the lot of them decided to prank Jack. His face had matched his hair. Slowly, he re-adjusted his clothes, which he had slept in, of all things. It's not like he had purposely done it. They were all so tired after last night that Ralph had pretty much crashed as soon as they got to Jack's house. He was still in shock that he had managed to get as far as making up a sleeping bag.

"How about we wake Simon and go look for the others?" Ralph suggested, "They're probably just outside. It's strange they brought Alex with'm too though."

Jack nodded fervently. "They might be tricking him into doing something illegal…again." Ralph knew that this was most likely true. Alex wasn't the best-looking of boys, and he never quite fit in with the group. He would do anything to be accepted. Ralph had actually forced Jack to invite the strange boy to his birthday party…he realized this with a twinge of regret. He hated manipulating people.

Jack bent down in front of the single occupied sleeping-bag and shook its owner's shoulder violently. "Wake up, Simon." He ordered, "Come on! I'll leave you here if you don't wake soon!"

Simon groaned and rolled over. His usually bright green eyes looked extremely pissed and angry. As it turned out, Simon was a very heavy sleeper. He could sleep through an atom bomb if he wanted to, and he didn't like being woken early. Roger, who Ralph had expected to be that way, was actually a very light sleeper. He jolted at the drop of a pin.

Jack stepped back a ways while Simon crawled out of his cocoon and glared around for a bit. Then, without a word, he stood up and stumbled over to the kitchen.

"What's he doing?" Ralph mouthed.

Jack shrugged, looking a little dumbfounded.

After Simon was finished eating breakfast and in a sufficiently better mood, the three moved outside and started to look around a bit. They poked in and out of the neighbor's backyards, calling out the names of their lost friends. It was actually a really pretty day out; the sun was high in the air, the sky was without a blemish and perfectly blue. Even the heat, usually oppressive this time of year, was drawn back and subdued. Almost like some sort of wounded animal. It occurred suddenly to Jack why this pricked him as strange.

"It's so odd…" He commented quietly to Ralph and Simon, "On a day like this, people should be outside, right? Doing lawn-work and stuff?"

"It's your neighborhood." Ralph responded.

"Yeah…but…it's so weird. I feel like we're walking through a ghost town or something."

Simon finally chipped in, "I'm sure it's nothing, Jack. You shouldn't worry so much. It's bad for your blood pressure."

"Says the guy whose blood pressure is so low he literally passes out from it." Jack huffed. However, as they progressed he made no further complaints. In fact, everything was silent. Not a bird sang.

"Roger! Maurice! Alex!? Bill! Where are you guys?!" Ralph shouted through cupped hands, "Come on, this isn't funny anymore!" They were about ten miles from Jack's place now, far enough for them to feel uncomfortable about going any farther without parent permission. A soft noise came from a hedge nearby.

"Pshh! Hey! Over here!"

Jack and Ralph whipped around. Simon was a little out of it, but soon followed. Just barely visible inside the hedge, two yellow-brown eyes peered out.

"Alex!" Ralph shouted in frustration, "You scared the crap out of me! We've been wandering around now for God-knows-how-long looking for the lot of you! What's going on?"

Alex clambered out of the hedge. Little briars clung to his clothes and stuck to his skin. He gasped in pain and pulled some of the more painful ones off.

"Roger said we were pulling some sort of prank…turns out it was only on me…" Alex answered, "He's terrifying…"

"What he do this time?" Simon muttered.

"Got some freaky people in costumes to scare me." Alex re-adjusted his glasses quickly. They had fallen half-off in his tangle with the bushes. "Except, I knew it was fake. I got common sense. Monsters don't exist!"

"Where'd they go after that?" Jack asked, unconcerned about Alex's well-being and utterly unphased.

"Ran off."

"Crap…"

Simon sighed and started marching back towards the house. Ralph grabbed him by his shirt collar and tugged him back.

"Oh, no you don't!" He warned, "We stick together! Remember last time we slept at Jack's house? I don't ever want to be in trouble like that again! Mom and dad thought you had died, for goodness sake!"

"Your mom and dad worry too much." Jack laughed, "One time, I went missing for three weeks. My folks didn't even call the police!"

"Ralph's parents aren't drunk half the time." Simon said. Jack stopped laughing.

Soon enough, once they'd gathered their bearings, the group was off again. Instead of advancing farther away from the house, they worked a different path towards it. They walked in the streets instead of the backyards, glancing between the seemingly empty houses as they went. Jack stretched his hands above his head, smiling smugly. Having lived in this part of town his whole life, he wouldn't be one to complain about its sudden quietness. Ralph, on the other hand, found it unsettling in the least. While they walked, Simon and Alex idly chattered about unimportant things.

They made it back to Jack's house in great time, but still with not a trace of Roger, Maurice or…whoever else. Downtrodden and much too tired for this early in the morning, Jack, Ralph, Simon and Alex pushed through the front door. Once more, right at the foot of the steps, Ralph heard that same sound he had heard that morning; a faint moaning, complaining sound.

"See, Jack." He said adamantly, "There. There's that noise again. It sounds like your dog is puking up a foot long hotdog and dying of bronchitis at the same time."

"I heard it too this time." Jack frowned, "I don't have a dog, though."

"Maybe it's your parents…" Alex commented darkly, "You know…"

Simon cocked his head a bit. "What are you talking about?"

"He's not talking about anything!" Jack stammered, laughing nervously, "Look, I'll go check on them, Ok? Nothing to worry about!"

"But, what are you-" Simon was cut off, this time by Ralph.

"When you're older."

"But-"

"When you're older!"

Jack rushed up the stairs to the master suite. Ralph yawned passively and sat down on the couch in the living area, where the sleeping bags had been spread out. Simon trailed him tepidly and sat next to him, while Alex milled about in the entryway.

Only a minute later, a scream echoed from the steps. Jack stomped unabashedly back down the stairs, still screaming and looking rather terrified. Ralph stood back up.

"What awful horrors awaited you up there, huh?" He asked suggestively. Alex grimaced, finding their sense of humor quite distasteful. But, instead of answering, Jack determinedly speed-walked into the kitchen. When Ralph met him there, he was throwing open every drawer. Some of their contents clattered to the floor, others simply rolled around and made noise. Finally, he flung open a drawer containing nothing but sharp knives. Jack started sifting through the utensils, picking out a particularly deadly looking number with a large, serrated blade. Ralph froze as Jack brushed past him and headed back up the stairs.

"Jack!?" He chuckled in warning, "What are you doing?"

No answer.

"J-Jack?" Ralph asked again through gritted teeth.

Still no answer, at least no directly. Upstairs, Ralph could hear screaming and groans of pain. "JACK?!" Again, the red-head marched down the stairs. This time, he had his black choir cloak slung around his shoulder, and the knife was missing. He had a haunted look about him, like he had just seen a ghost…or worse.

"Jack, what did you do?!" Alex asked in disbelief, "What's going on here?"

"We have to go." Jack barely whispered, "We have to go, and now. If Roger and Maurice meet us on the way there, then so be it, but we're leaving. Pack some things in whatever you got. Bring your sleeping bags with you." He headed into the kitchen again and starting shoveling things out of the shelves and into a small rucksack. Without protest, Simon started to pack his things. Alex was undecided, and utterly dismayed. Ralph caught Jack by the shoulder and spun him around.

"Jack, what's going on? Did you just murder your own parents?!" He demanded. Jack averted his gaze.

"No."

"Really?"

"No, I didn't. I promise. Look upstairs if you want, but we really have to go. Somewhere near the ocean maybe…or somewhere safe where nothing can get us. Which reminds me…"

"Huh?" Ralph stood back.

Jack smiled, just faintly, without humor. "Bring your zombie plan."

…..

THANKS FOR READING! Hope you liked it~ please review if you have the time~

Also, ENJOY THE NEW EPISODE TONIGHT! IT'S GONNA BE AMAZING!1

And to answer your question, Cocolada, they probably will meet the characters in the Walking Dead….IF I CAN EVER REMEMBER ALL THEIR NAMESsaghdthtjarjmnr….D:


	3. Uninspired

**Barton Hollow**

**Chapter Two: Uninspired**

They traveled by bike; Jack always kept a few spares in his garage, thank goodness. He explained to them as they rode out of the neighborhood.

"I don't know what they are…" He said, out of breath from his pedaling, "But they aren't human…Not anymore, at least."

Ralph kept looking ahead. He didn't have the energy to waste on making eye contact during this conversation. "How so?" He huffed.

"Well…They're not _alive_."

"That's because you killed them!"

"I did not!"

Simon and Alex remained silent; Alex out of exhaustion and Simon out of apathy. Plus, he might as well save his breath for later, when he would need it most.

"What I mean to say," Jack huffed, "Is that they're changed! Like in the video games and movies!"

"Your parents were _zombies_?" Ralph yelled, "You expect me to believe that?!"

"We have to tell someone!" Jack shot back. Ralph slammed on the brakes and skidded to a sideways halt in front of the red-head. The two stared daggers at each other. Simon sighed.

"Come on, you two." Alex intervened, still panting, "Can you stop and think logically about this?"

"I know what I saw." Jack growled.

Ralph was the one to back up; he knew a vain fight when he saw one. There really was no winning when it came to Merridew. Besides, it was past noon now. They needed to move.

"Fine." He admitted, "Maybe you're right. But, I need more evidence than that. Let's try to get out of the neighborhood a bit. We need to look for Maurice and Roger anyway. That way, we can all see for ourselves."

"Fine." Jack angrily agreed, starting off again. Ralph rolled his eyes, then gestured for Alex and Simon to follow after him as he too set off.

Rows upon rows of identical houses flew by, backed by miles of open fields. It was like this forever beyond the town; just acres of nothingness. Ralph tried to think of moments when he had been out of this town's embrace. Sure, it was a small town. You could easily walk right through it. But it's not like he had much reason to ever leave it. Barton Hollow Kentucky had been able to provide everything his family had ever needed. However, as they left the safety of the neighborhood and rode into the town, Ralph's stomach dropped. Maybe he would be leaving after all.

They were everywhere.

Zombies, if that's what you would call them.

Jack and Ralph came to an abrupt stop at the end of the road, then Alex and Simon, as the dead shambled along about one hundred feet away. Nobody said anything. There was nothing really that needed to be said, at least nothing that anyone could think of.

"I wonder where they're all going." Simon whispered in awe. Alex looked terrified.

"Should we follow them?" Ralph suggested. Wordlessly, Jack took off again, speeding alongside the herd of walking dead. For some reason, Ralph felt inclined to call them that. Walkers, like the chips.

For a while, everyone followed Jack. It was unclear where they were headed or what they would do when they got there, Ralph only knew one thing. As the small home-run stores and drug marts and such rolled by…he was absolutely sure that with every foot of land they crossed there were more walkers. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he pushed himself to continue on pedaling. The creatures didn't seem too concerned about the group of kids: Whatever trail they were following must have been much better. Ralph took at least a little bit of consolation in this. All of sudden, something struck him.

They were heading right for the elementary school.

Without explaining, he raced ahead of Jack and rode faster. Why hadn't he thought of it before!? It was so obvious…the only thing over this part of town, the part known as the hill, was that school! Kids must still be inside! Air whistled slightly beside him as Jack, smiling widely, sped in front again. Ralph shot him a warning glare.

"Jack, this isn't a game!" He shouted. Some of the walkers stopped and started to take notice of their rag-tag group. "They're headed for the littlun's school!"

"Who cares?!"

"We have to save them!"

"We don't have to do anything!"

"Jack!"

"WHAT?!"

Some walkers were following them now. Simon and Alex exchanged a glance before increasing their speed and meeting Jack and Ralph at the front.

"Ralph!" Simon yelled.

"What!?"

"We have a problem!"

"Noise seems to attract them…" Alex panted. Ralph nodded, and swerved hard left. There was a shortcut to the school this way. They might lose some of the creatures on the way…

…After about an hour of pedaling furiously through back-alleys and fields, the boys finally were almost at the top of the gravel road that lead to the back of the school. It was supposed to be for emergency access only, but it didn't look as if anyone was going to stop them now. Ralph looked behind him quickly. They had ditched the last walker some way back, and everyone, himself included, looked exhausted. He jumped off his bike and pitched it by the grass, walking the rest of the way up the hill. Everyone else followed suit.

Ralph froze in his tracks.

"Damnit all to hell."

**...**

**Alright, this chapter was lame. I'll admit it.**

**But, I NEED HELP.**

**I NEED TO KNOW HOW TO UPLOAD MORE THAN 50 DOCS TO THE DOCUMENT MANAGER! PLEASE HELP XD**

**Seriously, though. If you guys could help me out, I'd be soooooo grateful...**

**THIS IS VITAL TO MY EXISTANCE!**


	4. The Schoolyard

BARTON HOLLOW

CHAPTER THREE: The Schoolyard

Ralph and Jack ducked back under the ridge, dragging Simon and Alex down with them. Just over the hill, embedded within the bowels of a valley dip, was the old schoolyard. The elementary, which had started just hours before.

It was surrounded by walkers.

Ralph scuffed his shoe along the gravel road in thought. This was certainly a setback. Although there was no personal affiliation between that school and him…they…he still felt obliged to protect whomever was left inside it. It was his duty. Sighing, he plucked a stone from the dust and tossed it in absent-minded horror. Damn, he was really doing this…damn.

"Ralph?" Jack snapped impatiently, pulling Ralph from his thinking, "What's up? Let's get out of here already!"

"We're going in." Ralph announced.

Simon and Alex exchanged a confused look. Jack, always the hair trigger, went off.

"In there?! You gotta be KIDDING me!" He shouted.

"Shhhh! Jack!" Simon broke in, "You'll call them here!" Meanwhile, Ralph stood calmly b, tossing his found stone in the air and catching it over again. After about ten minutes of Jack complaining, Simon worrying, and Alex wheezing, he lopped it at the distant school building. Not the smartest thing he'd ever done. A few creatures gargled and turned, sparking with curiosity at the foreign noise. It was like static in their ears.

"Well, it's now or never." Ralph adamantly said, kicking at his bike. The rest watched in amazement as he began deconstructing it with his hands; handlebars here, metal piping there, spokes somewhere else. Testingly, he struck a metal beam against his hand. It rang off with a satisfying tenor. He started into the dip.

"Well, are you coming or not?" He shot back at the others. Simon followed right away, followed hesitantly by Alex. Still, ralph waited. Jack shuffled his feet uncomfortably.

"W-we don't know what those things do…" He spoke up.

"Well, I'm about to find out." Ralph retorted. Without another word, he began his trek again. He wasn't at all surprised when he halted behind the beginnings of the school building and found the red-head beside him. Simon and Alex looked ready to puke.

Jack shot Ralph a dark look. "So, what's the plan here?" He muttered.

"The entrance to the locker rooms." Ralph answered deftly, "There wasn't as many over there. We'll be able to slip past unnoticed."

"And if it's locked?"

"We'll have to sneak in through the windows-come on."

They had to learn very quickly how to put silence into every step. As Ralph led their small band out of cover and through dangerous territory, every footfall earned a death wish. A snapping twig could be their poison, a crunching leaf could be a bullet to the head; it might as well be. This was now alien territory. The boys felt as if they were walking in a dream, a supernatural movie maybe. There was no way it could be true. Yet, as their survival instincts kicked in they felt the truth buzzing deep within their bones. That there was no going back. No waking up. Even as they reached the back entrance to the school, even as the heavy metal door swung from the brick-laden walls, there was no cheering or celebration; only grim determination. Checking to make sure they were all safe inside first, Ralph quietly shut the door.

"I still don't understand what we're doing here." Jack complained angrily, leaning against a nearby gym locker. Simon and Alex rested on the changing benches, out of breath from the tense downhill hike.

"It's our job now to make sure that everyone gets out alright." Ralph started, "If there's any children here…they're our responsibility."

Jack huffed angrily. "So basically we're here to gather more dead weight?" He sneered, "I thought we were done after the fat one over there." Alex looked up indignantly as Jack's finger jabbed towards him.

"Now look here-!"

"Don't start a fight here!" Simon stepped between them as they geared up for a brawl, "This isn't the time!"

"He's right." Ralph backed him up, "If you two start a fight here, you won't just be fighting each other, but whatever else is close enough to hear you! So get it together and let's go already!" He snapped. Alex backed down, regret sparking in his yellowy eyes. Jack shot both boys a hate-filled look and forcefully pushed Alex away. "Alright, now follow me and-"

"Hey!" Jack argued, "Whoever said you were leader?!"

"I'm not!" Ralph said through gritted teeth, "But this was _my_ idea, so I'll lead it! Do you _want_ to go first, Jack?" For once, the red-head complied.

The halls of the school looked alive, as usual, bright with the din lights of pre-pubescent memories, things that made it feel even more so that this place was a long way away from home. Little pictures that students had so…artfully…completed hung from the cement block walls. It held the noncommittal silence of the hours between classes, the ones where often you'd wander the halls with a long missed hall pass and wait for class to end. The only thing that gave away the fact that something was utterly wrong was the empty halls. Yet, Ralph couldn't shake the feeling the nagging feeling that someone else had been here before them. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the eerie silence reminded him of someone he knew.

Stopping, Ralph tested one of the classroom doors. It swung open with ease. Something hit him like a train all of a sudden. A realization on what had struck him as being that much more odd.

"Simon, you went to school here last," Ralph turned to ask him, glancing around the class quickly, just to make sure, "For their lockdowns here, they lock the classroom doors, right?"

"Y-yeah. You're right." Simon admitted.

"So…I wonder why none of the doors are locked." Ralph worried over it in his mind. All of the other lockdown procedures had been carried out; the curtains had been pulled and large black construction paper sheet had been covering the peek-windows on the doors. The lights had even been turned off in every single classroom. Walking through the still halls, Ralph, Simon, Alex, and even Jack, continued to push on the wooden doors, and every single one came open. Not a child was in sight either. Ralph was just beginning to think that all hope of saving even one life had been lost.

Until they came across the faculty restroom, that is.

Jack tried the knob. Nothing. Simon inspected it further, looking through the keyhole and to the other side.

"How strange." He commented, pulling out a tire spoke he'd grabbed from Ralph's pile of rubble. He began to insert it into the hole, trying jimmying the lock.

"Not really." Alex retorted, "If you think about it, the faculty's facilities are always locked. That way, only the teachers can get in, remember?"

"Well, it's still worth a shot." Ralph said. Jack gave a noncommittal grunt.

"Got it." Simon announced, turning the handle and opening the door. The lights, like all the other rooms, had been switched off. Ralph stepped in and flicked the switch. He was immediately caught off guard by what he saw there.

Huddled against the wall, filthy and wide-eyed like deer in the headlights, were at least twenty young students.

"Guys," He called in a whisper, "It's safe, come in here."

Jack pushed his way ion, followed by Simon and Alex. They stopped in their tracks.

"Are those…"

"Kids?" Alex exclaimed, "How'd they get in here if it's locked from the outside?"

Simon crouched down and a few children ran to him, drawn forth out of the stalls by the friendliness he exuded.

"What now?" Alex asked.

"Breakfast buffet for zombies." Jack joked without humor. Ralph grimaced.

"No…we have to figure out a safe way to get them out. It looks like they're going to take some bribing though-hey! Jack!"

Merridew stood in a ring of children, giving orders not even they were idiotic enough to follow.

"Alright, you little turds!" He shouted, "Ready yourselves for a little something I like to call the charge of the light brigade! Any questions?!"

"You're stupid." A little girl piped up. She hid behind the uniform jumper issued to all the little ladies, except lacked the luster of a girl in uniform. She was only about seven years old by the looks of her, with sleek black hair that went down to her elbows. Her light brown eyes burned with undue fire.

"Nobody cares about your opinion!" Jack shot back. The girl held fast to the skirt of her dress and looked up at him angrily.

"I'm not listening to you! And I'm not leaving until big brother gets here!" She shouted, "Where's big brother?! What did you do to him?!" Her long black hair stuck up wildly, hinting at a slight craziness within.

"Yeah!"

"Big brother!"

The children chorused in shouts of protest. They obviously weren't leaving without this 'big brother' person. Jack backed down uncomfortably and went back to where Ralph stood by the door, guarding what they had salvaged of their original supplies taken from the house.

"I feel bad for their brother." He whispered, "This is a hell of a lot of siblings. Do you think they're adopted?"

Ralph snorted. "No, Jack." He retorted, "Stop being stupid and think for once." He paced over to the sinks, peering into the stalls. Nothing. He had been hoping to find maybe a vent…or a secret door or something. Teacher's restricted rooms, being as young as Ralph was, were still a very strange and mystical place. Anything could be held in one.

Suddenly, there was a rap on the door. Everyone fell silent.

"Am I going to have to break down this door, or are you gonna come and open it for me?!" A muffled voice came through, "Stop playing around in there, Marie! Open the door!"

"Big brother!" The first girl rushed from the crowd and jumped up to the door, wriggling the handle. She stood back as the door was kicked the rest of the way open.

"Roger?!"

…**..**

**IT'S BEEN A LOOOOOONG LONG TIME.**

**But, after working out some plat issues and some other…issues, I've finally cranked this chapter out! AFTER SO LONG! Thank you for being patient with me!**

**Things are gonna go DOWN next chapter. I'm looking forward to it myself.**

**So, REVIEW RESPONSE TIEM SHE COMES.**

**Cocolada~**

**I'VE UPDATED. THOUGH NOT AS SOON AS YOU THOUGHT…Sorry…**

** .50552338~**

**Oh. My. Goodness.**

**I couldn't believe it at first, but I've been praying for something big to happen (I know I probably don't seem like the Christian type person, but I am, believe it or not. I put a lot of curse words in my writing though, and I'm trying to change that and do it only when necessary to the character's…well, character. XD) and this wasn't at all what I expected! I know that the broadcast probably won't attract a lot of readers, but it's more than before! EVERYTHING HELPS! Plus, I never EVER thought I'd EVER be actually talked about on a radio show, especially not BBC, even if I wasn't even named…OMGGG. **

**Wow. I kinda spazzed out there, sorry.**

**But, anyway, thank you so so so much for telling me, and I definitely plan to update more in the future…I was actually debating on whether or not to finish up this chapter (The first half was already written for like a month) when you reviewed. Talk about coincidence. **

**Yeah, this made my day.**

**Anyway, Thanks for reading, all of you, and thanks especially to all those who reviewed. If you haven't already, I hope you DO review! I hope you stick around too! BYE FOR NOW!**


	5. Big Brother's Lament

**Warning for this one: At the end, there is graphic content that may not be suitable for all readers. Not like SEX or anything…but a death that I found hard to write myself. So, if you don't like that sort of thing….**

**Don't read this.**

**Just a warning. It's not the worst thing ever written, but its sad and a little disturbing.**

**Basically, If you can watch the walking dead you can read this, OK?!**

**Sorry…**

…**..**

BARTON HOLLOW

CHAPTER FOUR: Big Brother's Lament

The boy in the doorway had an appearance and air about him that was just about as unnatural as anything Ralph had seen so far that day. In the few hours he'd had to himself, it seemed Roger was able to completely alter his entire being of purpose. Still in his own school uniform, bags slung over his shoulder spilling with stolen goods, dirt and colors painted over him. A smile crept across his featured, and marred his face with the paint.

"Ah!" Roger exclaimed flatly at the sight of his old friends, "I thought I smelled something terrible. How are you guys faring?"

Jack buzzed with excitement and upset, brought on by at least one of his friend's survival. And by the looks of it, Roger was faring even better than they had.

"Roger! You're alive!" He yelled, "What the hell were you thinking, leaving on your own like that?! It's dangerous…"

"No, duh." Roger frowned, "I can handle myself, you're not my mother. Plus, I've got family of my own I needed to see to." He patted The small girl's head protectively. "This is Marie, my little sister."

"Oh, so you are related!" Jack wondered.

"Uh-huh." Marie shot him a dirty look before continuing, "He's my big brother and he's gonna bring me home from school because school is stupid. Just like you, carrot-head!"

"Who are you calling carrot-head?!" Jack shouted angrily. Ralph held him back.

"Roger, what happened this morning?" Ralph tried to stay on topic while fastening his hands around Jack's collar. He couldn't afford to have anyone injured. "Alex thought you were pulling a prank on him."

"Well, we were going to." Roger said dubiously. Alex shot him an angered glare. "But, then we saw those things and we all ran off. Maurice was with me for a while, but I don't know where he is now. I just ran home, picked up a few things, and came here."

"Was anybody else with you?" Ralph asked.

"No…I don't think so. Why?" Roger replied.

"I just…" Ralph let Jack go, and the red-head collapsed to the floor from his forward momentum. Alex jumped out of the way, and instead busied himself with looking out the door and keeping watch over the now-empty halls. "I can't shake the feeling that we're forgetting someone."

Jack pushed himself up, rubbing his forehead where a bump had formed. "Yeah, now that you mention it, there was one more person at my house, wasn't there?" He commented.

"None of that matters now." Roger insisted, "It's their fault they got lost. I've seen what those creatures can do! We can't afford to look for them. They're probably dead anyway!"

"It's not very nice to think that way." Simon muttered from the side. Roger spun towards him in a fury.

"All that matters now is that we get these children out of here!" He shouted.

"I knew that." Simon stated calmly, hardening his gaze, "I was just saying, it's not good to think like that, especially so early on. We don't know how long this will last, Roger. We could be living the rest of our lives running! If we lose hope…"

"Let's not argue anymore, people." Alex piped up from the door, shifting it shut, "Roger, where'd you come in at?"

"Front door. Why?"

"…Did you close the door?"

"…"

"Well?!"

"I can't remember!" Roger snapped back finally, "There, you happy?"

Ralph switched his mind back into the leader mindset, wearing a mask of control. He half-knew what was happening, based on the noises that came from outside, and this wasn't going to be easy. Plus, the children…He glanced at the score of small, scared faces peering up from the floors. Simon also met his gaze. It was strange, but at that moment Ralph considered Simon a child too. After all, wasn't that what he was? Only eight…Ralph himself was only Thirteen. He wasn't ready for this.

That didn't stop the future from coming.

"What's going on out there, Alex?" He commanded, "We need to come up with a plan!"

"Um…well…there's those things everywhere, and more are coming in by the second, Ralph. It's not looking too good."

"Okay," Ralph turned to face most of those around him. "Kids, we're going to play a game. Got it?"

The children's expressions of fear turned to joy. One cheered, and Simon had to quickly clamp a hand over his mouth.

"Yeah, that's right, Shh!" Ralph agreed, with a nod towards Simon, "To win, we have to run through the school and get out. You have to be super quiet though! The teachers are dressed as monsters, and they'll get you if you be too loud!"

The children smiled and shushed each other, giggling under their breaths. They were yet too small to understand the feeling in the air. Instead, the misinterpreted the thickness as enthusiasm and anticipation.

"Line up." Roger added, "I'll be in the back of the line to make sure nobody disobeys the rules." The look on his face was enough to convince everyone. Silently, the children shuffled into a neat line, holding hands. Ralph nodded in approval.

"I'll head the line, and Jack you're behind me. Simon next, then Alex." Ralph put in, looking to the others for their approval. When no one objected, he continued, "And no matter what, don't look back. Don't stop, don't talk, don't let go of each other's hands. Unless they fall behind on their own."

"Big brother…" Marie whimpered, tugging on his sleeve. Roger glanced down from the corner of his eye. "I…you're taking this game awful serious, aren't you?"

"Marie, stay close to me." He ordered, saying nothing more. Marie shivered and stayed where she was in the line, near the back along with her brother and a few other children of her own grade. Ralph checked the line, swinging the pipe he'd salvaged from his bike. If push came to shove, it was up to him to bear the strength to use it. From one of his many bags, Roger pulled a mallet. Ralph nodded at him. They were ready.

He opened the door.

"RUN!" He yelled, and they ran with him. Big, small, medium-sized, all different walkers blurred past them. Ralph tried not to concentrate too much on the noises he heard, but more on his surroundings. As the one who lead this procession, he had to keep a level head. So, he concentrated instead on the location. The library doors went passed them, and the halls were slightly muddied. At least, he hoped that was mud. Without realizing it, he let the noises back in. An ear –piercing shriek cut through the air, followed by the sound of an impact. Ralph heard Roger curse loudly. Other children still were beginning to panic, spreading into the hallways.

Ralph tried to remind himself that he had known all along not all of them would make it.

"Ralph!" Simon cried from behind him. It wasn't a cry of pain or panic, but mere lost-ness. Simon saw death all around him, and he didn't know how to deal with it. That and the running was tiring him too quickly. "Are we almost out?!"

"Yeah…" Ralph breathed, just barely audible below the sound of another scream. There was a horrible crunching and tearing noise. Ralph swallowed, tried breathing normally. He remembered what his mother had always told him. Breath in, breath out, breath in, breath out. He'd never really known how hard that was until now. As the lobby and the offices came into view and he turned the corner, the line not resisting as much as it had been, Ralph couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He slowed the line.

"Ralph!" Roger shouted from the back, "What are you doing?!"

"I think it's-AHG!" Ralph was cut off as something crashed into him from the entrance of the office. It smelled rancid, gave heaving moans. He kicked back out against it, forgetting entirely about his pipe in the wave of terror. His back met the cold tile; the creature was on top of him now. He screamed, seeing at last its face. It was perhaps the most excruciating part. Because, if you saw their face, their eyes, the realization would slowly dawn upon you that this creature had once been living. It had been human. But now…it walked…when it was dead.

Before Ralph could register anything, he heard the noise. The sickening noise of a heavy impact. In a split second, Roger became visible above him, mallet in hand. Ralph scuttled out of the way as the weight on top of him was flipped away. Roger beat the death right out of the thing, not stopping until its cold black blood had been sprayed every which way.

"Nobody…nobody touch it…" Roger panted when he was done, "Don't put your fingers in your mouth, not in your noses, not in your ears…"

"Gross." Alex commented.

"Hey…you never…know." Roger's gaze flickered to Ralph. "Hey, you." He accused, "Be more careful. If you make yourself vulnerable, you not only put your life at risk, but ours too."

"Sorry. I wasn't thinking properly." Ralph managed to get out, pushing himself up to his feet. He looked around. Nothing else was here apparently, because no more gruesome figures hopped out at him. Outside, it seemed all was quite too. All the walkers had probably gone inside, searching for them.

"Let's get out of here!" Jack spat, "Before those things find us again."

"Righto." Ralph agreed, getting back to his position at the front of the line. The procession started off again at a slow, wary walk. If not for his own sake, Ralph thought, then for the others'. Everyone sounded dead beat from running and from screaming. They headed outside and up the hill, steering clear of bushes and anything that might hold an enemy.

By popular vote, the boys headed one last time through town and out the other side, taking the only road that lead out. Whether for pure sentimental reasons or for safety, no one was quite sure. Maybe it was a little bit of both. But Ralph felt deep within him a vibrating resonance that this was perhaps the last time he'd ever see Barton Hollow. Never again would they roam the streets endlessly, no more would they attend the middle school here. He wondered briefly what the High School would've been like. Alex pulled aside the parade as they neared the small town's drug store, windows broken and door ajar.

"I think we should see what we can find inside." He suggested, "After all, if we're…really leaving, then we should stock up on supplies, right? The next town's not for quite some way."

"Guess so." Jack shrugged.

"He's got a point." Simon admitted. Roger, on the other hand, looked furious. He pulled Marie a little closer.

"Hold on!" He interjected, "I've already got everything we might need! I ransacked the nurse's office and the nearby stores earlier when I hit the school. I'm no idiot, I thought about this before! If you go in there, you risk the creatures catching up with us! They never stop, you know!"

"I think we should try. I have an idea." Ralph agreed with the first party's suggestions. Roger glowered darkly at him, but made no further arguments. As the group headed inside, Ralph stayed by the door and did a quick head count.

The damages were more severe than he had originally thought.

Only five littluns left, along with little Marie, Simon, Roger, Jack, Alex and himself. He felt his heart drop. That was almost seventy-five percent of the original children dead.

The rest no longer remembered the game. Instead, they clutched their hearts, rubbed their eyes, and sobbed. It wasn't a game any longer, just a vague memory of something that used to be a joke. With a sickening twist in his stomach, Ralph realized why Roger was in such a hurry to leave town. Maybe somewhere there was a better place. A place where walkers didn't roam the streets. A place where the children could be safe.

Just as Ralph went inside to object, he heard it; a low moaning. It was the same noise he'd heard that morning. Right before…right before…He snapped his head towards the others' location. Jack and Alex had piled all of the children into a cart, and were lazing unawares near the medicines. Roger kept watch with Marie from the cash register.

All were accounted for.

Except for one child.

"Guys! Where's the sixth-"

There was a scream from the second to last aisle. The toy aisle. In an instant, everyone was dashing to the scream's location, looking for any sign of life. When Ralph found it…he wished he hadn't. Simon left and muttered something about his blood pressure.

On the floor, in a pool of growing, gleaming blood, lay the upper torso of the missing child. Nearby, his killer groaned and yearned for more, sprawled amongst the scattered contents of the shelves nearby. Ralph held his breath…this was awful…this was more than awful.

But the look on Roger's face said more than he could've ever felt.

"I told you…we shouldn't have come here…" He muttered, just on the verge of screaming profanity at everyone, just on the edge of exploding, as far as Ralph could tell. His hand that held the mallet shook violently.

"Roger…I'm sorry…"Jack began, but he was quickly cut off.

"It's not your fault."

"Then whose…"

"Just get the others out of here, and keep a good eye on Marie…I have to…I'll clean up here. I'll catch up with you." Roger ordered. Ralph didn't dare disobey. Quietly, without a word, he went back to the cart of children and Marie at the cash register and led them out. Marie was smart enough not to ask what was wrong. It was almost like she knew.

As the wheels of the cart clattered onto the beginnings of a paved uphill road, the one that led out of this cursed down, Ralph snapped to attention at the clear sound he'd only ever heard in movies and video games.

The sound of a gunshot.

He puzzled over in his mind where in the heavens Roger had gotten a gun.

…**..**

**THANK YOU FOR READING…sorry about the gruesome bit at the end…REALLY SORRY. I LIKE KIDS, OK. I GOT SAD WRITING THIS…;-;**

**I would write more of an A/N but It's really late at night and I'm tired…Please review though! Thanks for reading even if you don't and I hope you liked it!**


	6. The Long Walk

BARTON HOLLOW

CHAPTER FIVE: The Long Walk

The road leading from the town was long and treacherous, having not been paved for years upon end. The asphalt rose and cracked, proved itself a worthy foe, especially against the small metal grocery cart. Protesting, it squealed and rapped and jolted violently, giving new meaning to the word 'troublesome'. Somewhere along the way, Jack had removed one child to make pushing easier for Simon, who was just barely managing. However, when Ralph offered to take over, the younger boy kindly refused. He knew as well as any other that the job of the older boys was not at the driver's seat of a shopping cart. Instead, Ralph, Jack, and Roger, with Marie safely by his side, watched the ever-changing forest siding the highway on either side, casting shifty eyes over the stopped cars contents; for surely there were countless numbers of them, enough to match even the trees in the wood. A dark solemnity had descended upon each and every one of them since the incident at the drug store. For once, even Alex was silent. Out of all the boys, he perhaps felt the least useful, having only the un-carted littlun for solace.

The serious attitude wasn't the only thing that had to descend, however. Ralph turned his face to the sky, a fading, soft, yellow-pink. Had it really been just yesterday that they had all been lazing in that sinking sun, enjoying the fruits of their friendship? It felt so distant already.

"We should probably find someplace to stop soon." He said aloud, "We've been traveling for hours now." In response, Simon yawned. Roger stepped forward, speaking for the first time since that afternoon. He'd hidden the awful weapon somewhere in his bags, and once again wielded the heavy mallet that had saved Ralph's life.

"Let's crash here." He suggested, "It's as good a place as any other, and the cars are too far apart to get in the way. We can take turns on watch, just in case. I'll take the first one."

"Are you sure?"

Roger nodded.

"Alright then." Ralph agreed, "Let's set up camp here for the night."

"We've got nothing to sleep on…"Alex trailed off.

"We could tear out some of the seats from the cars." Jack said. Ralph shook his head adamantly.

"No," He answered firmly, "We sleep on the ground or what's left of the things we brought with us. There are still walkers in those cars…I don't want anybody else getting hurt today." Nobody objected further. Even Jack, who'd spoken out so much against Ralph's authority before, seemed to recognize the truth in his words. Everything held danger now. The boys began to lay out whatever they had-backpacks, coats, anything-and settled down for the night. Despite their fears, they were asleep within moments. Even the children, sitting still piled in the cart, shuddered and snored underneath someone's black choir robe. All three of them.

Roger watched from atop a small coupe's roof, frowning. Marie sat in his lap, trying to get closer for warmth. They'd always stuck together, even in the normal times; when dependency of their guardians was always in question. It would be no problem to switch from brother to parent.

"Big brother?" She muttered, deep brown eyes laced with worry and drowsiness. She'd always taken to her brother's looks, which he in turn inherited from their mother; sleek black hair, chocolate eyes, pale skin that tanned much too easily in the sun. Within a matter of days probably, he guessed, if things continued like this they'd both be snooki colored.

"Nng?"

"I don't like this game anymore. Are we ever going home again?" Marie whimpered. Roger couldn't answer for a minute. Finally, he sighed and drew up a small tale.

"No, Marie. " He responded, "Remember that game mum and da used to play?"

"The one where daddy was drunk and had the gun?"

"Mmhm," He whispered, "That one. How long did it go on? Can you remember?"

"f-forever?"

"And?"

"Until…until mama…died." She shuddered at the memory. And, understanding, she finally drifted off into a fitful slumber.

...

As the sun rose into the sky, it brought with it the terror of a new day. Ralph woke with a start. What a dream he'd had! Then he realized with a drop in his stomach that this wasn't his bedroom, and he wasn't sitting on his bed.

So…it wasn't a dream?

Slowly, he got to his feet, trying to find his balance in a tipsy-turvy world. Everything seemed…off. The air was clear, and the sky looked blue…but why were those cars stopped in the middle of the highway, all in a row? Why was there a cart full of grubby children? Then, he remembered all the events of the previous day and wished he hadn't.

"Up and at 'em!" Ralph nudged the sleeping figure closest to him, red hair crazy and mussed from sleeping on the cold pavement. Jack growled in protest.

"Ralph, this is my house, and I can wake up when I want to…Oh…_Oh_…" Realizing his error, Jack also stood up and rubbed the back of his head, taking the time to smooth out his hair with his fingers. "I almost forgot…"

"It's hard…well, it's going to be…to forget entirely." Ralph sighed, "I thought it was a dream too."

"I wonder what happened." Jack commented, looking out over the empty cars lining the country highway, "Is it some kind of disease?"

"Maybe." Ralph said back, lifting the pack he'd used a as pillow back onto his shoulders. All the other things he'd grabbed from Jack's house had long since been lost. Between the each of them, there were two packs, some food, a gallon of water, and Simon and Jack's choir cloaks; plus whatever Roger had collected on his own, contained in an over the shoulder messenger bag and a small backpack. Not nearly enough for all of them to live comfortably for long.

"Should we wake the others and get moving soon?"" Ralph asked, looking to Jack for guidance, "I'd like to prepare some kind of breakfast for the children so they won't cry on the way."

"The way to where?" Jack scoffed.

"…I don't know yet." He admitted in a whisper, "Maybe…maybe the ocean if things are this bad everywhere."

"So we can _drown_ ourselves?"

"No. We'll steal a boat and go somewhere else." Jack still looked skeptical, but shrugged anyway.

"Up to you, _captain_." He smiled back sarcastically, "The sooner we get out of her though…the better."

"Alright then," Ralph said, a little louder. Roger turned his way from the top of a nearby car. So, he'd stayed up all night after all. Personally, Ralph himself would've taken a second watch if Roger would have woken him. "It's decided. We'll head for the ocean."

Simon stirred on the ground where he lay. It looked as if he hadn't gotten much sleep either. Or, at least less than he usually got, which was a solid thirteen hours on a normal day. He pushed himself groggily to a sitting position.

"I've never been out of Kentucky…" He broke off with a yawn. Ralph smiled.

"Well, we're going to have to go through a whole heck of a lot more than Kentucky to get to the sea." He told him, "In fact, we might even see the alligators in Alabama."

"Really?"

"You bet."

"Cool."

After rousing Alex, the five boys, plus Marie who'd woken with her brother, were hard at work sorting supplies and preparing some sort of sustenance for the long walk ahead. Roger had collected more helpful items than Ralph had accounted for, and turned out to be quite resourceful.

"I've been living pretty much on my own for my whole life," He muttered when asked about it, "What did you expect?"

Ralph shrugged uncomfortably. He didn't really hang out with Roger a lot, he was more of Jack's friend, so he hadn't taken the time to get to know him before.

"I didn't know." He answered honestly. Roger went back to work, giving Marie orders to fetch this and that from certain piles. They began to organize their lives, sorting the supplies into designated bags: one for food, one for liquids, one for blankets and coats, one for medicines. After it was all said and done, Ralph felt much more at ease with their current situation. Meanwhile, the littluns had started to wake. Simon went to distribute food amongst them.

"So, what do we have?" Jack asked, leaning back a bit. Ralph looked down and read off the list he'd compiled.

"Umm…ten cans of corn, don't know how we're going to cook that, a bag of Cheetos, a few things of chili, cookies, Jack why on earth did you pack those?"

Jack shrugged with a smile. Ralph rolled his eyes and continued.

"Anyway…we've got a box of cereal, more canned goods that Roger got, and that's it for the food. In liquids we counted two gallons of water, and a jug of Gatorade. We have our jackets and one sleeping bag, and then we have a bottle of Tylenol, some Nyquil, a whole crap ton of pain killer, and some fever meds."

"We'll last at least a week on that, if we ration well." Roger put in, "But we need to watch ourselves."

"Understood." Ralph acknowledged his insight with a curt nod, then stood up and stretched, enjoying what he could of this brief moment of peace. Then, he sighed and gave the words.

"Alright, everyone, I think we've stayed here long enough. Let's gather up and move on."

….

For four days, things continued on like this.

The sweltering heat was almost too much to bear; another littlun had been lost to the walkers as well. It was the one Alex had been in charge of, a smallish boy with a large birthmark on his face. The older boy had abandoned him when the group had been running from a group of the creatures. Roger refused to talk to him because of it. In addition to that, tensions had been rising between Jack and Alex as well as Jack and Ralph. Sure, if they were in school for a couple of hours or at each other's houses for a day they could bear it. However, the span of a few days, inseparable by rule of nature, strained the boundaries of tolerance. It seemed Simon was the only one left unaffected. Though, he was so dense and carried such a strange air of hope about him it was really quite hard to pick a fight with the younger boy. Still with only two children left to push, he did his job dutifully. Marie had set herself apart from the other littluns, even proving her own use every now and then from years with her brother Roger, completing each day's journey on his shoulders, keeping an extra vigilance out across the further terrain.

"_When the men take me to the devil tree, I will be free and shining like before, papa don't tell me what I should have done, She's the one, she's the one who begged me, take me, take me home_-" She sang the words like an old hymn, keeping time with the rhythm of their steps. Nobody had the heart to shush her, even though the singing might attract walkers to their spot at any moment. Even Roger, usually the snappy one about things like that, especially with Marie, remained quiet.

"That's a nice song, Marie." Simon commented from the cart. Marie stopped singing and smiled widely, a gap in between her front teeth where she was missing some.

"Thank you, Shimuhn." She whistled, "Brother used to sing it to me when we had to sleep under the porch."

"You slept under the porch?" Simon queried.

"It was dangerous inside with daddy." Marie commented, saying nothing more. Roger didn't offer any further explanation either, so Simon decided not to push too far. The singing stopped for the moment, leaving the footfalls without rhythm.

"Simon?!" One of the littluns wailed, "It's hot!"

"I know."

"It's _hooooooot_!"

"I can't do anything about it, silly." Simon retorted. In response, the child began to sob profusely. Jack was able to deal with it with a little bit of agitation; if worse came to worse, he'd just yell at the thing a bit. Alex, however, grimaced and cracked. He was tired of the uphill walking, tired of the heat, tired of the crying. And most of all, he was tired of Jack and Ralph ignoring him and his ideas.

"SHUT UP ALREADY!" He shouted in the littlun's face, sweating and bright red, "JUST SHUT UP! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"

"He's mean…" Marie whispered. Alex heard her and whirled angrily.

"You too, you stupid little girl! You don't know anything! This isn't a game or a song, got it?!"  
"Hey," Roger stepped forward, a dark aura seemingly wafting off him, "Watch it, fatty. Don't talk to her like that. She's just a kid."

"We are too!" Alex yelled back, "We can't survive out here! I wish you guys would stop living in delusions! Wake up, smell the roses! WE'RE ALL DEAD MEN!"

"Yeah, maybe," Ralph finally spoke up, "But I'd rather be alive and on my way to death than dead and walking towards nothing. Everyone dies, Alex. It's just a matter of when, and how."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Alex shot back. At last, Jack joined in as well.

"What the hell are you going on about?!" He screamed, "You haven't been helping at all! What's one thing you've done for us!? You're lucky Ralphy here's looking out for you, Alex, because if I were in charge, you'd have been left behind a long time ago!"

"Say it again, I dare you!" Alex contended.

"I'll kill you myself!" Jack rushed forward. Luckily, Simon intervened in time to stop any physical fighting. Struggling, he pushed the two boys away from each other. He too was tired from the heat and yelling, but he wouldn't show it with strong words.

"Stop it, you two! This isn't getting anywhere!" Simon scolded, "You're acting just as bad as the children! Maybe even worse!"

"S-sorry…" Alex apologized, turning even redder out of embarrassment, "I don't know what got into me then…it must be this heat."

Jack didn't say anything, just pushed himself away and gave them both an angry glare. Simon sighed and went back to the shopping cart. The progression continued, tense and leering, until finally Ralph stopped them at the top of the hill, frustrated more with their behavior than the heat. Plus, it would be night time soon anyway; might as well get an early start.

That night was fitful. Ralph volunteered to take watch, worried that the others would kill one another in their fury during the wee hours of the night.

That still didn't stop the rage coursing through a certain someone's core.

Roger stayed awake during the night, angrily scheming about things he would never do.

_Never._


	7. The City on the Hill

BARTON HOLLOW

CHAPTER SIX: The City on the Hill

All was quiet at the night time hours, albeit the common cricket or perhaps the uninterested passerby. Maybe it was just the tired imagination of his mind, but for a split second Ralph was almost sure he saw something flitting among the shadows in the trees. Although, a few minutes later when he went to check back on his sleeping comrades, all was well. There was nothing to be worried about in the dark of midnight, when the most difficult of foes to conquer was sound asleep at his feet; nothing at all, or so he thought to himself. It was sometimes his only solace, that so long as everyone was asleep, everyone would get along.

If they had kept walking that day, however, to the top of that hill on which they had decided the tension too great to bear, they would have found something quite peculiar on the other side. Just over the ridge, lying in plain sight, was a city.

The city lying atop the hill.

…

As another day continued, they walked on. Ralph couldn't help but feel that something was missing.

"So, what's the plan for today? More pointless walking? Or are we actually going to accomplish something?" Jack sneered, venom lacing his tone, "Oh, I know! We'll just go all the way back to Barton Hollow! That's a great idea! We will have made twice the progress we've made in four days!"

"Shut up, Jack." Simon growled.

"Oh, don't start this Simon." Jack hissed back. Ralph rolled his eyes and jumped back into the argument.

"Jack, would you stop picking fights?" He sighed, "It's tiresome."

"You know what else is tiresome, Ralph?!" The red head raised his voice, waving the sharpened stick he used as a weapon in Ralph's direction, "Walking in circles."

"We aren't walking in circles!" Simon corrected.

"All of you need to be quiet." Roger finally said, "I bet there's something right over the hill, you just see. We can't go back. We all know that, so stop arguing over it already! Or I'll come over there and show you what you really need to be afraid of!"

Everyone was quite as the walk continued for once; at that point Ralph's heart dropped to his stomach. He realized what had been so strange to him earlier.

"Hey, Jack."

"What?!"

"Where's Alex?"

Jack looked around for a moment, confused. Their progression halted, right before the top of the highway slope. Roger kept on going, followed by little Marie. By the nearly-broken shopping cart, Simon leaned and gave Jack and Ralph an exhausted, weary look. He was still not a morning person.

"I don't know. Did we leave him behind somewhere?" Jack answered slowly, "I bet he just got eaten by a walker. He's so slow and all…"

"Aren't you even the least bit worried?" Ralph shot back skeptically.

"Well, I wouldn't go back and look for him, if that's what you're asking." Jack furrowed his brow, "That's just plain stupid, Ralph. We didn't go and look for Maurice either, or any of our parents, so I don't know why he's worth any more than they were!"

"He's not, but that's not the point. You just don't even seem worried that he disappeared." Ralph said angrily.

"So?"

"So!?" Ralph repeated, "SO!? Is that all you think of human life!? SO!?"

"He was just holding us back!" Jack retorted.

"He was one of us, and not one of them!" Ralph stopped, sobering up for once. His pale yellow hair had crazed and layered with grime from sleeping on the ground night upon night. Right now, it crazed along with his tepid blue eyes, getting lost in the depths of a new insanity. Quickly, he shook his head and tried to clear up the fog. It left him in a haze, almost so that he couldn't even remember that it had been there in the first place. "That's all that matters…"

"Whatever you think," Jack sneered, "You're going back alone if you're thinking of looking for that fool."

"I never said I was going back, I just…we should feel something…" Ralph tried to explain the pain in his chest, like someone was twisting it in their fist. The sky was still blue.

"Hey, sorry." Jack tried to make up for it, "I misunderstood."

"No problem, I guess."

"We should get moving." Roger broke in. He had been oddly silent this whole time, not speaking up until now. Some odd air had formed around him, beckoning the sun to be sucked down into some hell-born abyss. Overall, a foreboding air.

"Righto." Ralph sighed. He kept on walking, not waiting to check to make sure the others were following. By the sound of the creaking shopping cart wheels, he could tell they were already keeping up with him anyway. It's not like they had anywhere else to go.

At the top of the hill, Ralph stopped. He heard everyone else halt in unison as well, with the squeaking of the cart wheels coming last, Simon's panting, jagged breaths coming through once more.

"What's…this…?" Ralph whispered.

"It's a…city? Where are we?" Jack answered, at the same time bringing up a valid question of his own. Where _were_ they?

"I've never even heard of a city this close to Barton Hollow." Simon wondered, "In geography, Mr. Samsonas said that the nearest city was at least a hundred miles away."

"Could we have traveled that far maybe?" Ralph wondered. The glistening city ahead of them, obscured by a tangle of interstate roads and exits, seemed too still and quiet for what he'd heard of cities. Weren't they supposed to be noisy and such? Where were all the people?

"Do you think the walkers are here as well?" Marie piped up from Roger's side. He patted her head.

"Undoubtedly." He responded.

"Yeah, the cars are all still like before, and I don't see any people." Ralph began uneasily. There was something about the shells that had previously been buildings that unnerved him. The way they touched the sky, like they were calling forth heaven itself. The way the lights were out, and nonexistent. The way it groaned as if undergoing some horrible punishment.

Like it was….cursed.

Almost as if…it wanted them away.

"I don't like it." Ralph voiced his thoughts.

"Me neither." Roger took up quickly, "It just screams danger. I think we should go around."

"What are you talking about?!" Jack argued, "We're going in. You two have made the calls enough now. Simon, how about you?"

Simon shifted uncomfortably under the spotlight. "I…uh…I'm kind of tired, guys. Plus, we're almost out of food and water. We need to look for more. And the kids…" His gaze shifted to the two remaining littluns in the cart, sleeping with shuddering breaths underneath his choir cloak. "They're getting sick from the heat. We need to stop and take shelter. Even if it's just for two days…"

"Fine." Ralph agreed hesitantly, looking once more towards the ominous towers ahead. "But if it's not safe, we're leaving immediately."

"Well, duh." Jack made a face and started towards the mirage-like glass of the skyscrapers. Simon followed as well, and eventually even Ralph after a few moments. He beckoned Roger too as an afterthought. Roger held Marie's hand, half-turned towards the city, giving it a wary, deadly look. Marie glanced up plaintively.

"Big brother…" She whimpered, "I don't want to…see it…"

"Shh." He quieted, "Remember, the past is ours to keep." He bent down on a knee and looked her in the eyes, "You can't tell people about things that happened in the past, because then they won't like you anymore Marie. And you want people to like you, right?"

Tears began to spring up from her too-big eyes. "I don't want to be fed to the monsters!"

"And that's why we have to keep it a secret, Marie." Roger smiled, "It's very important. _He_ was dangerous, just like this city, remember what I told you then…"

"…I remember! I remember!" She cut him off, "You don't have to tell me again! Geez, I got A's in school. I'm smart, not like_ him_."

"Good, now let's go before they come back for us." Roger took her hand again in comfort and the two siblings strode towards the glistening city.

Although, if you had been looking from the distance, the heat undulating from the pavement, the broken asphalt, the very earth, made the scene look entirely different. This city was crawling. This city was not glistening with beauty, but with sweat from its toils.

And Roger, with little Marie by his side, seemed almost a black silhouette against the outline of it. A smudge, a blemish, an unforgivable sin.

Spring was accelerating with alarming speed, and the heat couldn't have felt more oppressive.


	8. Doubtful Dreamer

BARTON HOLLOW

CHAPTER SEVEN: Doubtful dreamer

Ralph tagged along behind the party as they entered the city. At first, he had tried to hang back and strike up a conversation with Roger and Marie, but to no avail. Roger wouldn't speak, and Marie wouldn't speak without Roger speaking first, so they came to a sort of stale mate, and to avoid awkwardness Ralph lagged back.

He sighed and kicked up some dust. There was nothing that felt too welcoming about this place; though, ironically, the sign hammered into the side of the road that beckoned in visitors was labeled: 'The Sunlight City'. The official name, printed in red right above, was Stamen. He supposed that was pronounced as people this far south usually rolled things; 'Stah-mean'. Under his breath, he muttered quietly to himself about strange circumstances.

"Sunlight city." He grumbled, "More like hell. It's too hot here."

"Ralph!" Simon called from the front of the line, "Come check this out!"

"Coming." Ralph said back, though not quite loud enough for anyone to hear. He ran quickly past Roger and Marie to the front of the line where Jack and Simon had halted. They stared down at the peak of the hill, into the heart of the city. Around them were the smaller, residential buildings; little apartments and housing complexes and drug marts. These were mostly silent and unstirring. The heart, however, was softly but surely beating. As Ralph reached the peak with them and stared at the city lying in wait ahead, he couldn't help but feel his own heart drop. He leaned on his knees, panting and trying to sweat out the heat, his clothes sticking to his skin.

"Damn." He commented.

"Yeah." Jack stated. There was no speculation about it; this city would be strange alright.

"It looks…dead." Simon whispered, "I wonder if someone was here before us."

Simon was right. Stamen appeared to be crawling, but not with walkers or people. Stamen exuded an air of finality, because, in a way, everything about Stamen was final. It was the last city on the way out of Kentucky, and it was a last stop for quite a few people. Its name was an irony in of itself. The glistening towers and skeletons of industry reached for the sky in an attempt at surrender, and Ralph had to convince himself that this was simply a city, and not a living structure.

"Are you guys sure this place was a good idea?" Ralph put in, "I don't like this."

Roger, catching up from the back of the line, set Marie down on the pavement and watched the skyscrapers with a leery gaze. "I have to agree with you there, Ralph." He admitted, "I can't say this city screams: I love you."

"Maybe, but we won't know for sure until we find out for ourselves." Jack assured with a smirk.

"We should go in." Simon agreed, "The kids are tired. We need to find a place to stay, maybe someplace they can run around a bit. What do you think, Ralph?"

"I still don't like it, but you have a point." He grimaced.

"You guys are ridiculous!" Roger shouted, bursting with nervous energy, "This is a terrible idea! Can't you learn from past mistakes at all?!"

Simon frowned. "Roger, where else is there to go?" Then, he turned to the younger sister, "What do you think of this, Marie? Huh?"

"I…I…uh…" She whimpered, unsure. He lip quivered with the threat of tears. Roger threw Simon a look that could only be interpreted as death itself. "I…Mmmm…."

"She's just a kid, Simon." Ralph intervened, "We can't put all our eggs in her basket."

"Pfft." Jack snickered.

"Shut up." Everyone groaned.

"Anyway," Ralph continued, "Roger, let's just try. If anything happens, we'll leave right away."

"…Fine." Roger huffed. He grabbed Marie's hand forcefully and picked his way down the cracked road quickly, sending little chips and chunks of asphalt tumbling down the street. They plinked and rustled, skidding alongside the travelers. Ralph and Jack exchanged an odd look. Roger could be strange sometimes, Ralph thought, but at least he knew the darker teen was loyal.

"Alright then." Ralph sighed, "Let's be off." And he too, made his progression into the beating heart of the town.

….

There was nothing. The whole city was empty. As Ralph lay down on the cold concrete floor of one of the many empty warehouses they'd happened upon, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, he couldn't help but feel this was strange. There should have been something here…at least, he felt that way. Even if what they found hadn't been friendly, he would've much preferred it to this. Though, in the dark of night, he couldn't say he minded that much. It was nice not having to worry about guards for a change, and it was even nicer knowing they'd be safe when they all slept. That is, if he slept. Just because his body told him it was safe didn't mean his head agreed entirely.

He sighed and shifted himself so that he was looking up at the many holes littering the ceiling, moonlight from the full moon filtering through. It had an eerie exuberance to it…like it was a message trying to say something. Alas, it was in a different, untranslatable language that Ralph thought he would never understand. He found himself staring at the iridescent disc and wondering how on earth it was the same one as the one back home; was it even the same? Ralph didn't know the answer to the questions he asked anymore. He used to be able to puzzle them out…but not anymore…not anymore.

There was a heavy sigh from across the room, and Ralph turned to it. Any company would be preferable to his mind at this point, even if it was found, or rather not found, in the ever silent Roger.

"You're still awake." Ralph pointed out stupidly.

"Maybe. I'm not sure." Roger responded, much to Ralph's surprise.

"What do you mean?" He went on, eager for conversation.

"I think that maybe this is all a dream, and someday I'll drift off and wake up to the world just like it was before." Roger muttered, "At least, I'm hoping so. It's something that I think about; something to keep me going, you know?"

"That's deep." Ralph chuckled lightly, "Not what I expected from you, no offense."

"Hey, what do you think I do all day?" Roger retorted in good-humor, "I do a whole lot more thinking than I should be doing, and a whole lot less than useful." He paused, allowing a short, wistful breath to escape from his lips. "A whole lot less…than ever was useful."

"This isn't really any different for you, is it?" Ralph asked out of the blue. Roger frowned deeply, taken aback by the sudden change of mood and tone.

"What do you mean?" He was the one to ask this time around, just trying to avoid the topic. Ralph, however, persisted doggedly.

"Your family was a little odd, wasn't it?"

"If by odd you mean abusive and abandoned, then yes." Roger admitted, "I guess I'm used to it, if that's you're trying to say. Marie and I were out on our own a lot. I had to take care of her since she was just a baby."

"I've noticed you're closer than most siblings." Ralph wondered, "Like me and Simon, we live together now, since his folks passed, and we've gotten pretty close, but we're still very different."

"Yeah, perhaps." Roger narrowed his eyes a bit as he scrutinized the dimpled surface of the moon against the sky; the darkest blue dotted with pinpricks of light, thousands of miles away. Would he ever reach them? Probably not, but he could try as long as he was living. "you still look out for each other though, and that's a quality not to be overlooked out here."

"Where do you think Piggy went off to?" Ralph piped up without warning, "And Maurice?"

"And Bill." Roger reminded. But, he too, soon forgot about that small fact and pondered on the immediate question arisen by his now comrade. "I think…I think Maurice may have made it. And maybe, just maybe, Bill too. He's resourceful like me, and I think he had a better chance alone than with all of us. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into him one day…but Piggy is a different story. I don't think we'll ever see him again."

"Oh." Ralph sighed, "That's too bad."

"It was bound to happen sometime." Roger yawned and stretched out on the floor, trying to find a comfortable spot so he could maybe sleep. Or pretend to sleep, whichever one suited him best. At the moment, the latter fit his purposes quite nicely. "I think we'll be better off without him, honestly."

"Maybe." Ralph admitted, "But he was still my friend, and if I never see him again I think maybe I'd miss him."

Roger allowed a laugh before closing his eyes on the conversation, and then answered Ralph's musings one last time before tuning out to the world once more, "I think we've just about used up all our 'maybe's' for this chat, Ralph. Good nightmares."

"Yeah…" Ralph murmured, once again alone with the stars and the sky and the stranger's moon that didn't belong to him. He found himself longing fervently for the old one. "Good night, Roger."

The eternal sky stretched beyond and above, outside of the confines of the warehouse. Quickly, a raven flitted amongst the clouds and flew out of the city.

There was no sustenance to be found here for the bird. And thus, he must go off; off to cities not barren and places better than this.

Maybe, just maybe, he'd find one somewhere out there. Ralph wished that he could follow him one day.

…**.**

**So, it's been a while and I figured I'd update this, especially since people keep following it. Thank you, by the way, you people who follow and favorite! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE *points to you***

**By the way, the above paragraph, at least the first part, is codename for: My journal is missing and someone's probably thoroughly enjoying reading all my private stuffs and stories right now. Yup. I'm Screwed :D**

**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even though it was kind of crappeh. Meh. **

**LOVE YA! THANKS FOR READING! PLS REVIEW, if you have time….mehemmehmeh…**

**Write you again soon!**


	9. The Great Ornament

BARTON HOLLOW

CHAPTER NINE: The Great Ornament

The boys had arrived within the confines of the fantastic, rusted warehouse in the wee hours of twilight, when the shadows cast high and looming upon the ground. Everything at that time wore the façade of being threatening, so they had seen no disposition of the place other than the ones the other houses around it shared. It was normal, as normal as an abandoned warehouse could be. Nothing was wrong with that. At least, it gave that semblance; and what a mighty disguise it was.

For, as Ralph woke in the morning to a dripping on his head and looked for the source, he found no rain. He wiped it off slowly with his hand and stared.

It was blood. He looked up.

Hanging from the rafters, swaying ever so slightly from the morning draft, tied expertly and efficiently with a noose, was the body of Alex.

"Oh my God." Ralph choked, gawking, trying to rub the blood off in a fury, "Oh my God."

Roger sat up and, upon seeing the puddle of scarlet that had ammased by Ralph's feet, started to dip his fingers daintily in the mess. He sniffed it curiously.

"We have to get rid of this." He directed to the frozen blonde. Then, snappier, "Hey, are you listening?!"

"Alex." Ralph croaked. Roger followed his gaze to the rafters and made contact with the corpse. He said nothing more, but narrowed his eyes.

"What's up?" Jack yawned, returning from the land of deep slumber. His hair spiked up on one side, but was flat on the one he slept on. He sneezed. "Does anyone know what time it is?"

"No." Roger responded nonchalantly.

"Simon's got a watch." Jack argued.

"You're waking him up." Roger muttered, "Last time I woke him, he nearly bit my God-damned head off."

"Rock paper scissors?"

"No. You want the time, go wake him yourself."

"You suck." The red-head waved Roger off and started for Simon and the littluns, still sleeping like a rocks. Marie was nearby, weaving something out of the rusted industrial wires. A few times she poked herself, and had to suck on her fingers to draw the infected blood out. Roger took notice and scolded her for it.

"Marie, you're going to get tetanus! Put that down!"

"Sorry." She dropped her creation and was silent again.

Meanwhile, Jack prodded Simon with his foot persistently. "Hey! Hey, sleepyhead!" he crooned, "You awake? You're not dead, are you?"

"mmmph…no…" Simon responded gloomily, muffled by his black choir jacket he'd used as a pillow. "Leave me alone, Jack." He pushed Jack's foot away tiredly with an outstretched palm, and buried deeper in the jacket.

"Oh, come on, Si!" Jack argued, "You're gonna be late for school~"

"…" Simon peeled himself from the ground and fixed Merridew with a glare so volatile, so poison-filled, it could've killed at least five cute puppies. "I hate you."

"Yeah, yeah." Jack laughed, "What time is it?"

"IS THAT ALL YOU WANTED?!"

"Hey." Roger sharply interrupted. Simon and Jack tore themselves away from their tiny feud. "Mind yourselves. Some of us are mourning." He gestured at Ralph only with his eyes, yet the rest could pick up the meaning well enough. Soon, they also saw the body and the silence descended upon them. The only noises were the sound of the rope as it swayed, and the ghostly, hollow pitch of Marie's voice as she sang.

"_So long to all of my friends,_

_Every one of them met tragic ends,_

_With every passing day,_

_I'd be lying if I didn't say,_

_That I miss them all tonight…"_

It filled the air oh, so appropriately. Simon got to his feet first, taking a good look at the pool of blood and staggering away from the rest to empty his stomach.

"That's murder." Roger grimly said. Marie cut off her song abruptly; the sweet motion of innocence, having lost both purpose and meaning, dissipated into the dawn chill.

"What's that?" She asked.

"Nothing, Marie. Go back to playing." Simon managed to get out when his work had been completed. He looked as pale as death himself.

"How could you tell?" Jack asked sharply, trying to hint at a particular topic. It quickly lost any suggestions he'd invested.

"Piggy couldn't climb up to the roof, let alone have the energy _or_ the courage left to tie the knot and jump off the beam afterward." Roger spat.

"Good point." Jack muttered in reply.

The silence crashed upon them suddenly like an iron curtain for the second time. They all bit their tongues firmly. It was a great realization of sorts, that they had lost their first ally, that caused them to think rather than speak. The two littluns remaining started to wail from the effect of the dark air, and Marie hurriedly shushed them. Though, not even she knew what had just happened. Ralph opened his mouth, as if to say something, but a drop of blood splattered across his tongue from the heavens, and he gagged and cried over his lost words. He doubled over on the concrete. Still, not a voice was heard.

Enough had already been said.

…..

When the shadows had passed and the sun was well on its way in the sky, Ralph had finally come back to his senses, reality. They'd decided by popular vote not to cut Alex down…both out of respect and personal squeamishness. Roger was the first one to actually suggest moving on, leaving him and all his memories behind. Ralph looked at him incredulously.

"We can't just leave him without saying anything or leaving anything behind…no grave…no funeral…that's wrong!" He shouted. Simon looked uneasily out the bay doors, which were shut but still creaked…whether the source of the creaking was the wind or not was up for debate.

"Are you suggesting we stay here, wasting precious time, while you find a rock and engrave his name on it?" Roger sneered, "We're sitting ducks."

"If it were you up there you'd want the same, wouldn't you?!" Ralph screamed. This already tough day had pushed him to his limit. Everyone could see he was on the verge of snapping, that it was best not to argue with him today. However, Roger didn't care. He'd spent his life in dangerous situations. Ralph's anger was not something he was afraid of.

"No." He plainly stated, keeping his features in line, "Actually, I want you to keep me where I lie. If it puts somebody else in danger…I'd illuminate that possibility, whatever the cost. If I die, I die. No use in wasting lives on it." A certain conviction laced his tone. He clenched his fist, turning his knuckles white.

"…" Ralph breathed out crookedly and stepped back a foot. His blue eyes were reflective and wide, the whites showing around the edges. Still, Roger was calm. He would stand his ground until the end. Jack, Simon, Marie, and the littluns blinked and looked up at them from where they sat on the floor, getting much to comfortable. Finally, Jack stood up and exchanged his glances, fleeting, between Roger and Ralph, who weren't saying anything at the moment.

"Ralph." He urged, "We have to go, Roger's right. Pig—I mean, Alex, was a good friend, but now—"

"NO!" Ralph snapped, throwing a blow in the red-head's direction, but missing as Jack ducked, effectively dodging out of the way. It seemed Ralph was too drunk on his emotions to think or aim properly. "DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT ALEX! YOU ALWAYS HATED HIM, JACK! YOU HATED HIM, AND YOU WANTED HIM DEAD, AND DON'T TALK TO ME! JUST, DON'T!"

Everyone stood back in a stunned silence. Ralph fell to the floor and the blood and the dirt, and crumpled naturally into a position with his head between his hands and his knees, shaking violently.

"Just…don't…please…"

"R…Ralph…" Simon tried. Jack waved a hand at Simon to shush him, and the younger boy quieted himself again. Marie broke away from the little mass on the ground by him and ran for her older brother, clutching his knee his in her tiny arms in a vice-grip; she stared, wide-eyed and teary, at Ralph in front of them. Their leader was crumbling away. So soon…he was deteriorating into nothingness. It killed her to see it again. Their only constant…

"Brother…" She murmured, practically tearing at her lip with her teeth to keep it from trembling, "Brother, I'm scared…what's happening?"

"…He's going mad, Marie…" Roger half-smirked to himself, "He's going mad."

…**.**

** Hey, it's been a while. But I love this fic…so I decided to update based on my opinions for once…even though I'm really behind on a lot of other things…but, hey, who cares. I'm the writer, I do what I want. Not to sound rude or anything. You guys matter just as much, it's just in this case, I'm updating something people don't nessacerally want me to 'waste my time' on. But, I like this fic, maybe too much. So, here you go, you readers who actually like Barton Hollow and follow it avidly, here you go. I love you guys for supporting me :D**

**Also, I forgot to mention this, but a few chapters ago, Marie was singing a song. That does not belong to me. It's called Free Until They Cut Me Down, and it's by Iron and Wine. I love them too.**

**The song she sings in this chapter is The Light Behind Your Eyes by My Chemical Romance, who are awesome and awesome and awesome and so on. **

**So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. A MYSTERY IS AFOOT!**

**This is where things start to get interesting 7:D**

**Please review, you guys! I know it sounds stupid, and like I'm groveling and stuff, but it's really frustrating when you favorite or follow and don't review…Then, I don't know what I'm doing right, and I don't know how to write new chapters. You guys, in a way, determine the style I continue writing in…YOU SHAPE ME. I need your opinions, comments, reactions, and constructive criticism to keep my literary fires burning! Thanks.**

**THANKS FOR READING! SEE YA!**


	10. The Gift From Him

BARTON HOLLOW

CHAPTER TEN: The Gift From _Him_

Eventually, Ralph calmed down enough to see clearly what was happening, and all the consequences his actions could have taken. He could've gotten all of them killed, he realized with a jolt, why hadn't he kept his head?! The riddle puzzled at him even now. Ralph felt like a dirty, broken Rubik's cube that some disobedient child was turning in their hands. Everything was in a state of constant reconfiguration. So, he tried to follow suit. Standing up, he brushed the dirt from his khaki school pants and picked the hollow metal pipe he wielded off the ground. He hadn't touched it since the previous night, when they settled in here. He was beginning to regret that decision too.

"Let's get out of here…" he sighed, not daring to look up, "I…need some fresh air."

Roger nodded without saying anything, and Marie followed him as he strode over to the large bay doors across the warehouse. He pressed a keen ear to them, and then peered through a slit in the rusty, old metal. Simon and Jack stayed put, not quite sure what was going on anymore. The littluns were fast asleep; the heat fever was taking its toll on them.

"I don't think anything's out there." Roger announced, "It's safe for now. But keep on your toes."

"What about the littluns?" Simon piped up. Roger fixed them with a scrutinizing gaze before turning back to the doors and throwing them open. They groaned and creaked as they slid along their tracks in the floor.

"We'll close the doors behind us." Roger decided, "They're not waking anytime soon. They'll be fine here."

"Yeah…" Ralph agreed, starting outside as well. The sun was past its high-point in the sky now, well on its way to sinking. By the looks of it, they weren't going to find anything important or get out of the city today. "We won't be gone long. Simon, bring a backpack and an empty water jug. We might need them."

"Yes, sir." Simon bowed and grabbed what was told of him, then followed his elder out of the supposed safety of the warehouse, leaving the mocking swing of the tightly tied rope behind. Jack followed also, not opening his mouth. All of them were weary of speaking anyway, especially when there was no sense in the words being spoken.

As they combed the city, pointlessly, a second time, they stayed closer together than they ever had before. At points, their shoulders brushed and their legs tangled together, causing them to trip and crash to the concrete. It earned many bruises and scrapes; however, it earned safety too, at least in their heads. Albeit Roger, who probably hadn't ever been scared of anything, everyone had received quite a spook. The city, though, refused to give them solace. It continued its own routine of silence and creaking, of sending the wind through the shells of the buildings, of being unsettling. There was no water, no food, no nothing. It was entirely empty, except for them. Unless they were missing something.

And, with the events of yesterday and that morning behind them, that was most likely true.

"What are we doing?" Jack whined in complaint. His feet slipped on the scalding black pavement, cracked and buckling still. He yawned and looked at the sky quickly; the sun was slipping behind the horizon too. "There's nothing here. Can't we go back?"

"Jack's right." Simon agreed plaintively, "What of the littluns?"

"Sucks to the littluns. We need to find someplace new to stay." Ralph grumbled, but then, checked himself. "Anyway, there has to be something."

Roger cocked his head, seeming to triangulate the sounds around him. With his right hand, he pulled Marie closer and refused to let her go. She didn't try to run out of his grip at this point. The child had had the obedience scared into her; there was no way she was going anywhere on her own now. However, that didn't stop Roger from wanting to keep her close.

"Ralph, there's nothing." The darker boy refuted, "This is the second time. I want to get out of this city. We said it all ourselves, if this city was dangerous, we would leave. It's time to leave. I still have a terrible feeling about his place…"

Ralph frowned and kicked a stone. It clattered, rolling to a stop in front of an old apartment building door. He stared at it a moment before saying anything, then started forward after it and stopped. In front of the little rock, before the door of the building, there was a small pack of things overflowing with goods; water bottles, packages of food that didn't need cooking. What more, there was a little tag on it, and a bow. He got on one knee and turned it over in the dying light to clearly see what was written there. In surprise, he dropped it.

"What is it?" Jack and Simon asked in unison. This brought on an argument between them.

Roger pushed them aside, reaching Ralph first. Little Marie was towed along behind him, still not dragging her feet or complaining. Her brother leaned over the pack of things, rummaging through them thoughtfully, glancing at the tag.

"It's for us." He observed, "Someone left this here for us."

"…I…is it safe?" Ralph muttered, "I mean…the only other person in this city…has to be the one who murdered Alex, right?"

"No." Roger disagreed plainly, not wasting his protective efforts on the blonde, "For all we know, the killer could be one of us. This person could be just looking out for us…still, we should test it, just to be safe."

"On what?" Ralph raised an eyebrow and his voice. He wasn't too keen on this mysterious package, even if they needed it desperately. Roger sighed. He wasn't too keen on the idea of taking food from strangers either, especially if it had their names written on it. However, it was life or death for them, and he knew that. If it had the possibility of being safe, they'd take it. "Plus, how'd they know our exact names?"

"Maybe they overheard us talking…" Roger growled through gritted teeth. His eyes flitted towards Simon and Jack, picking a fight behind them, throwing mock punches and shouting when either hit the other. "It's easy enough, considering we haven't exactly been stealthy, you know? As for testing, we could always feed it all to Jack. If he dies, we'll know its poisoned."

"I don't think so." Ralph smiled faintly, but continued without humor. He pushed some of the overgrown, pale yellow locks of hair from his eyes, then slung the pack over his shoulder and stood up. "We could always find a wild dog or something. I've seen plenty of them on the road."

"Then we'd have to wait until we get out of the city." Roger pointed out, also getting to his feet, "I don't think we can wait that long if we stay here for as long as needed. It's going to take several more days for the kids to get better, plus Simon and Jack seem to be enjoying themselves and not worrying about ANYTHING." He raised his voice at the last part, capturing the quarreler's attention, and effectively stopping their play-fight. Simon shuffled back to the group, hanging his head in shame, and Jack sauntered over as if nothing had happened. Roger rolled his eyes.

"…" Ralph felt the cogs in his brain working. He had an idea, but Roger wasn't going to like it. The other boy met his curious stare with curious, narrowed eyes. They were a strange color, and it had always kept people from getting too close to him in the old days; brown, with a little hint of scarlet pricking at the edges, forming spokes around his pupils and irises. Roger glared at Ralph. He didn't seem to appreciate what he saw there.

"No." He responded to the leader's unspoken idea, "No way. It's not happening."

"What?" Simon asked. Jack looked between Ralph and Roger, wanting to get in on the plans but not sure how to approach it and be accepted.

"Why not?" Ralph asked indignantly, "I can handle it. The only other option is to feed it to the littluns. They need food, Roger, and if we don't test this stuff they'll starve."

"What food?" Jack asked.

"We found a backpack full of food with our names on it, wrapped up all pretty." Roger explained, not looking away from Ralph, "And blondie here wants to stuff his mouth full of the poison-laced present."

"Why don't we just feed it to the littluns?" Jack suggested flatly. Everyone fell silent.

"What?" Roger swiftly turned all his fury on Jack, burning holes into his already fire-topped head, "Are you retarded?"

Jack grimaced and sneered. "No, but they're sick and dying anyway. If they don't eat the food and it's not poisoned, they'll die, but if they eat the food and it is poisoned, they'll at least die quickly instead of slowly in the heat. If they eat it and it's safe, they have a chance of getting better." He explained sourly, "It's a win, win, win situation. At least, if I were them."

"They're just kids." Roger growled.

"Jack…that's…" Simon whined.

"They haven't got a chance out here anyway." Jack accused, "I don't know why we even brought them. Just more sorrow for us, I mean, look at them so far. Seventeen of them died already, and the last three will too. It's just a matter of—"

"—YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Roger howled, throwing himself at the red-head and knocking both of them to the ground. Marie jumped back, hiding behind the ever-congenial Simon, who was at least willing to protect her from the real fight going on right now. Jack hadn't a chance, really. It was only a matter of watching them tussle, hearing the impact of fists, and waiting for Roger to run out of steam. The dying sunlight cast strange, orange and red illumination over them, throwing their shadows a long ways across the scenery. Someone cried out, but by now it was getting too dark to tell who was who in the fight. Ralph watched from the corner of his vision, half-turned away in apathy. He crossed his arms over his chest, knowing they were getting nowhere today. This whole day had been, overall, fruitless. Simon still guarded Marie as the blows faltered out, tapered, and eventually ceased completely. There was only exhausted panting and the sound of one last impact as Roger stood up and kicked Jack in the side. He wiped his bloody nose with a sleeve and spit off to the side. His eyes were smoldering. His shirt was torn in some places where Jack had clawed at it, and so were his face and arms. He walked calmly up to Ralph, grabbed the collar of his shirt, and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Do what you want," He muttered, looking as if he was trying to kill Ralph with his eyes, "But Marie and I aren't eating that food or touching anything in there until we know it's safe." He pushed Ralph away after that and started off towards the direction they had all come from; the silhouette of the abandoned warehouse. Marie ran after him, nearly tripping over her jumper's skirt, and grabbed a hold of his arm once more. Simon looked torn on what to do.

"What about food!" Ralph shouted after them, not taking any sides, but clearly worried on the consequences of what Roger had just chosen, "You'll die without it!"

"I'll find my own! You keep forgetting that I've lived like this before, Ralph!" Roger laughed darkly back. He continued on, leaving the rest to pick their way back in the dark.

….

Over the next few days, the companionship among the boys continued to deteriorate. Rifts began to crack and form, opening new wounds every now and then. There was more bickering than actual talk, and at times it seemed as if no one would ever get along. Simon no longer tried to break up the fights. He only waited for them to pass over. Roger and Marie kept to themselves, and Jack and Ralph did the same, leaving him caught in the middle with the highly apathetic, terribly ill littluns. Sometimes Marie kept him company, but not often; only when her brother was out scavenging. The food and water from the pack they'd happened upon didn't seem to be having any effect so far, so maybe it was safe after all. Still, Simon refused it and gave all his portions to the smaller children. He didn't want to cause any damaged relationships by eating it, and he really wasn't hungry a lot. His stomach was always churning.

"How come Simon never eats?" Marie sometimes asked.

"Simon's not feeling very well." He would always answer.

"Is he sick?"

"No, don't worry about it." He smiled at her.

Of course, that didn't stop her from worrying about it, and before she went to bed that night she told her brother everything that had been said. Roger thought about everything carefully, but didn't answer her.

The next day, he came back from scavenging and sat down next to Simon and Marie. Simon looked up, confused, before Roger dumped everything on the floor and leaned back.

"I thought you could use the company." He said plainly. Simon looked on, wide eyed with surprise. Marie seemed equally surprised, but ran to greet her brother with a hug nonetheless. "Oh, hey Marie, how's it hangin'?"

"It's hangin' cool!" She responded excitedly.

"You don't have to sit over here…" Simon said, glancing over at Ralph and Jack across the warehouse with nervous green eyes, "I mean…I'm fine by myself."

"We have to stick together out here." Roger muttered, "It's not like I want to, but it seems as if your adoptive brother over there abandoned you for zombie food. Nobody else is dying here on my watch, so…I guess I don't have a choice. Help yourself to some food."

"…Really, I'm fine, Roger." Simon sighed, muffled by his knees and the huddled way he sat.

"Are you sick?" Roger asked; not worried, just curious.

"Maybe a little…" Simon buried his face further into the cloth of his choir coat, which lay upon his knees and sprawled out onto the floor. It muffled his voice. "…homesick."

"Oh." Roger laughed without humor, "I can't really help you there, kid. I never had a home, so I was glad to get away. I kind of expected the same from you, no offence, considering your parents were dead before this."

"…" Simon didn't lift his face from the fabric.

"But, you still miss things being as they were, right?" Roger guessed, "You considered Ralph your brother and now he's abandoned you…I expected this much."

"…"

"But, I tell you what." Roger faked a smirk and picked a handful of berries from the pile, rolling them around in his hands a bit before eating some and continuing, "You gotta stick with someone, so why not stick with me?"

"Hm?" Simon finally looked up, even more surprised than before.

"We need all the allies we can get out here." Roger explained, tossing a berry over at Simon. It arced and bounced off his forehead, rolling underneath a halted piece of equipment far behind them. The littluns were slumped against it…or at least, the littlun. The night the came back from finding the package, they'd found one passed from heat stroke. His name had been Rob, Marie had told them, and he was a friend of hers before…Later that day, she watched as Roger took him outside the city and buried him in the nearby woods he now used for finding food. Right now, Roger closed one eye and stuck his chin up, still chewing his food. "With a little work, you'd make a great survival expert."

"Are you serious!?" Simon gawked. Roger had never seemed like the one to offer help, especially not to him.

"Yeah," Roger chuckled darkly, "Plus, I just love pissing Jack and Ralph off."

"…okay." Simon agreed.

"Good boy, now eat before the food's gone." Roger demanded.

"Yay!" Marie cheered, "Simon's our friend!"

Roger grimaced. "Well, I wouldn't go that far."

He'd still throw Simon under the bus if he needed to.

…**.**

**WHeee. Fast updating!**

**Thanks for reading, guys! Please review if you have the time!**

**WRITE YOU LATER!**


	11. Slow Fade From The Sunlight City

BARTON HOLLOW

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Slow Fade From The Sunlight City

The dark of the night was the worst part of the city, Jack thought to himself, when everyone was sleeping and there was nothing to do except wander the street. He often would sneak out like this and kick pebbles in the road, knocking them amongst the hollow buildings. One time, he actually topples a rickety old shed with a sizable one. He searched for thrills and times he could do it again.

He hadn't changed much since they first set off on their journey. His skin was still pale, despite the burning heat of the day, and he had been thin and bony before all this happened. Nothing much different about him other than the dirt that went lacing his hair and skin, and the ragged appearance of his clothes. Actually, it framed his new bruises from the scuffle with Roger quite nicely. He frowned and walked on. In his gait, Jack held his foot a little awkwardly. He twisted his ankle in the fight too. Now, when he leaped across the buckles in the road, he half-fell instead of landing. Being rugged as he was though, Jack was easily able to recover and get back to his feet.

"Stupid Roger…stupid Simon…I thought my idea was great…" he snorted and stopped where he stood, kicking a stone away. He stared at where it had been for a few moments with fire in his ice-blue eyes. He did so for no other purpose than for something to do. Actually, his mind was completely blank. He didn't really know what else to do. The crickets chirped and somewhere far off, a pack of wild dogs howled viciously. He should be getting back soon, before they got into the city. Just as he started off again, he heard something else. Just barely, but it was there. He cocked his head to the side, trying to evaluate the sound's position. It was…below him? Jack looked around quickly; there were buildings around, and nothing more. Little buildings, tall buildings, store fronts, government offices…and there was a subway. The entrance descended below city streets, looming before him with its cold, windy, hollow howling noises. It whistled out of the blackness.

"Hello?" Jack called, not thinking, "Is somebody there?"

Nothing answered.

"Hello?" Jack asked again in a sing-song voice. "Hello~"

There was a groan, then many more joined in. Jack's ice blue eyes widened in fear and surprise. Something was moving down in the tunnels. Something…more than one something…so much more than many more somethings…they were…

"Ahh…" He started, scrambling away, "AH!" He screamed and sprinted off into the night.

…..

Ralph woke in the middle of the night to the sound of Jack panting and trying to explain something unintelligible in a strained, out-of-breath tone. He rolled over on the floor, making sure to avoid the accumulating puddle of scarlet near him, and stood up, trying to shake the sleep off. Simon, Roger and Marie were already up and at 'em, listening to Jack with confused looks on their faces.

"What's going on here?" Ralph asked tiredly. "It's still dark out, go back to bed."

"There's a…a…there…they…" Jack tried to get out. His face was red from running, and sweat formed a sheen on his skin. The littlun was the only one who had yet to be woken from dreams; she was snoring lightly against the machinery still. Fever made her hard to rouse.

"Spit it out." Roger demanded, a scowl engraved on his features. "And this better be good, Merridew."

"It…they…they're here…" He gasped.

"What? Who's here?" Ralph urged, agitated.

"The…the things…" Jack breathed, his voice breaking, "They've been here…the entire time…locked in the subways…"

Everyone stood back a bit. It seemed now that everything had gone wrong that could go wrong. Roger gritted his teeth and held fast to Marie's little hand. Simon simply stared in disbelief. Ralph hardened his resolve and frowned, listening around him. He could hear them faintly, far-off, but still there. They would be here soon; the walkers.

"We have to go." Ralph announced regretfully. In all the horror that had greeted them in this city, he had been glad for the respite from their enemy. However, he was still glad to leave the terrible place behind them. He had been looking forward to leaving. "Now, come on. Get as many things as you can pack in five minutes. Simon, wake Casey. We have to leave before they find us here." It was as easy as that. In that moment, with those words, all their misgivings about each other disappeared. In trouble, they would stick together. On the road, they could bear it; just not here. When they left, they'd be leaving their fights and arguments and rifts behind as well, invested deeply into the silver towers of the city.

"Jack, did you let them out?" Roger accused carefully as he packed.

"No, the gates were already open."

"Every other time I've gone by, they've been closed…"

"What were you doing outside anyway?"

"I just wanted a walk."

"Come on, faster!"

"I can't believe it…" Simon managed to get out in passing, towing the littlun Casey behind him, "They were here all along. I wonder who locked them all up down there in the subways. It must've been hard."

"Yeah," Roger scoffed, "I bet it was the same person who left us the backpack, and the same person who let them out too." His packing had been done quickly, neatly. They were nearly finished now.

Ralph took a long glance up at the ceiling, at the hole where the moon usually shone in. At this time of night, the sky was tinged pink with the promise of morning. It made him wonder how long it had been since things were normal. Weeks? Months? What day was it? He wished he'd been able to pick up a calendar to keep track of these things; because out of all the things he'd lost, time was perhaps the most precious of them all. Then, he huffed a breath and looked away. The body of piggy was still there, taunting him.

_You couldn't save me_, it said, _you can't take care of anyone._

For now, he'd have to ignore that. He slung a backpack over his shoulders and adjusted a cap on his head. Jack looked at him from the corner of his eye, and they exchanged a terse nod. Roger smiled crookedly and met them both in the middle, clearly excited at the prospect of getting out of this place.

"Is it about time?" He smirked. Simon and Marie flanked him on either side, with Simon holding Casey's, the littlun's, hand and Marie holding Roger's. Roger was loaded down with supplies, and twisted the mallet twixt his fingers. "I'm ready to bust this place."

Ralph nodded in agreement, but still made his own input. After all, he thought it his leaderly duty to keep them all safe. "Yes, let's, but I want a plan first."

"Hm?" Jack frowned.

"This is going to be dangerous." Ralph continued, waving his hands for emphasis, "Not all of us are likely to make it, you know." At this, Roger pulled Marie closer. "So, I want to break up into two teams and meet up outside of town. We'll stand a better chance if we do this systematically. One team will be the distraction, and the other team will leave unnoticed."

"How do we know where to go?" Simon piped up, scared.

"There's one road that leads into the city, and one that leads out." Roger picked up where Ralph left off, clearly backing up the blonde's plan. Ralph noted this with approval. He wanted Roger on his side. He was a valuable person in this game. "The road that leads out goes northeast, then diverges into two smaller roads until both hit the highway about a mile down. So, we'll meet on the highway when all's clear and move on. From the highway, we can go north or south. It's simple as that."

"So…who's going to be the idiot running into a mob of zombies?" Jack smiled nervously.

"…I will." Ralph offered, "Plus, one other."

Roger sighed and stopped spinning his mallet. Then, he smiled wickedly and answered before anyone else could be the martyr. "I think I could go for a run. Simon, stick with Marie like she's glued to you. I trust you at this point, okay? Be safe."

"Uhh…" Simon stammered, terrified of the prospect of this new responsibility, but also a bit thrilled too. He brought Marie closer to him as Roger stepped out of line. "I will…"

"That's what I thought." Roger laughed, "So, now what?"

"…Now, we run." Ralph smiled.

"What about me?!" Jack insisted.

"You guard Marie, Simon and Casey." Roger ordered sternly, "Here, use this." Before Jack had time to think, Roger tossed an all-too-familiar pistol into the air. It arced and landed in Jack's outstretched hands. "Give it back when we meet up again…protect them with your life if necessary."

"Yes…" Jack bowed a little, flustered, "I…mm."

"Good." Ralph announced, "It's settled then. Let's go."

So, they set out for the highway; sneaking along the inner streets, trying to stay hidden, seeing a peek of a walker every now and then, and always hearing them. It was hard to stay calm, especially after so many days and weeks of the calm, lax nature they'd adapted. It would be hard pickings from then on, and Ralph knew it. Stamen wasn't safe anymore, or at least it was far less safe than it had been. They had no other choice but to leave. He tried to be grateful for that. He didn't want to stay here any longer, with the body of Alex literally hanging over him on a thread. Ralph whipped around the corner of a building swiftly, then rolled off to the side, across the road. Geez, the streets in this town were in bad shape! Roger and the others followed obediently, checking the walker's location about a quarter mile away, amassed in a giant herd of sorts. They flooded from the subway entrances and exits, trying to adjust themselves to their brand new freedom. Luckily, they hadn't heard the boys yet.

"Come on." Ralph whispered, waving everyone forward. The road split just ahead, and began to go in two different directions, but still heading for the same destination. The side road was the one Simon and Jack would be taking, the straight road that disappeared and eventually turned into a highway was the one Roger and he would be taking. Ralph bit the side of his lip and sighed gustily, trying to keep his cool. "Hey, Jack, give me that gun. I'll trade you my knife."

"Sure," Jack said skeptically, handing the weapon over, "Why?"

"I'm gonna do something really stupid just for the heck of it." Ralph smiled excitedly, then pushed them off, pressing a knife into Jack's hand. Power seemed to course through him at that moment. This was his chosen weapon. He could kill with this. "I would start running now, you guys."

"Ah…okay..?" Simon picked himself up and led Marie and Casey away gently, with a last look at Ralph and Roger. Marie waved goodbye, Roger waved back. Casey stumbled with her sickness. Jack followed quickly behind, taking up the rear, doubling back every now and then, spinning to check behind him and looking to the sides. Ralph nodded in approval and glanced at Roger devilishly. It was so unlike him, it took Roger by surprise.

"We're doing this, man!" Ralph said, suddenly pumped, not even trying for stealth, "Let's do this!"

"What?!" Roger asked.

In response, Ralph ran back into the street clearing and stood there for a couple of seconds, then whooped in a battle cry and fired the pistol into the air. There was a moment's pause where Ralph lowered the gun, looked at it as if he couldn't believe what he just did, then watched the walkers advance slowly towards him, turning to the sound of the gun, to the sound of his voice. Roger's jaw dropped.

"Ralph!" He shouted, "You idiot!" Roger ran into the street as well, grabbed Ralph by the elbow, and began to tug him along the road. Eventually, Ralph cleared his head and ran along on his own accord, sprinting and skipping at times. Roger glowered at him expectantly, as if he thought Ralph would burst into rainbows and butterflies at any minute. "You realize…" He got out between breaths as they sprinted down the highway, walkers shambling slowly but surely after them, "…what you did…was the stupidest…thing I've ever seen anybody…do!"

"Yeah!" Ralph laughed in response, "But you said you needed a run!"

Roger rolled his eyes and kept on moving, eventually leaving Ralph a few feet behind. The blonde threw his arms out, and cheered jubilantly into the dawn air, letting everything go with sudden, unexpected bliss. Everything that had passed had passed. Everything that had just happened was behind him; it would catch up eventually, but it wasn't anywhere near him now. It couldn't touch his happiness at the moment. A momentary release flooded over him, and he felt as if it were the old days again. He was just a kid, fooling around, not caring about a thing.

However, he couldn't shake the feeling that something big was coming. Their journey had just started…and Alex's murder was still hanging over him on invisible wings.

As they ran into the dawn air, the sun almost directly in front of them and peaking over the horizon, tinting the cold with its light features and warm nature, Ralph knew that this was the start of something else. The highway wound across the landscape, carving into the dips and valleys and rocks and plains and fields. They ran towards something they couldn't see, they ran towards the future; a coming season in the woods that fronted the north and south.

Spring was fading fast, and the oppressive heat of summer was just beginning its rounds.

….END OF SEASON ONE…..


	12. Southward

**BARTON HOLLOW**

**SEASON TWO: SUMMER**

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: Southward**

The boys didn't go north, as expected they would. Instead, as they met up on the broken and beaten road, feeling much like it, they made a wise decision and headed the other direction; southward. There it would be warmer for the few survivors, and there they might find solitude along the shores of the ocean. Maybe there would be boats left on the beach. Maybe they could escape. Either way, the boys did not want to be north when the winter hit again.

Yes, it had been two years ago that they'd decided that. It had been a long time since that fateful day in the city, the day that ended all peaceful thoughts of a normal life. It had been nearly that long as well since the last of the littluns died; they had passed from heat stroke, succumbing to the awful weather as the group headed farther and farther south. At least Marie was still alive and well; lives were put on the line every day to ensure her safety. Nobody wanted to risk the consequences if Roger ever lost her; his only family connection.

Ralph, at this point about fifteen, though he had certainly not been counting or keeping track of such things, had assumed the role of leader. Jack often usurped this position, however, and Roger really controlled everyone from the sidelines. Everybody knew that he knew best. Apparently, his mind was nothing but an index of every single plant and animal that was able to be eaten, of every road that they must travel to get into Georgia or Alabama or whichever, of every single anything that mattered. Simon and Marie, who were officially under his care, looked perhaps just as good, maybe better, than the first day of travel. Ralph and Jack cared for themselves. Or rather, got enough care for themselves to live by.

As far as they knew, they'd made a steady progression into the heart of Georgia by now. Their bodies and treads had grown accustomed to the long, dreary travels on the highways and through the cities. Their minds had checked out and no longer thought anything of mortality or cost. All they knew everyday when they woke was that they were alive, and that they should make the most of the day...unless they died, in which case they should try to make that a benefit to the others as best they could.

"Are we ever gonna stop?" Marie asked once during the midnight watch.

"Stop what?" Roger responded quietly.

"Moving? Can we rest soon?"

"I don't think so." He said, "Not yet. We're not there."

"But, where's there anyway?"

"...We don't know yet. But we'll know it when we see it, Marie."

"Well, we better see it soon."

"I'm sure we will." Roger lied flawlessly.

This went on for a long time. The days blurred into weeks, and eventually months, then years. Nobody knew quite where the other was going. What was there to look forward to except for another day of toil?

They found it eventually; pulled it out of thin air just to have something to set their eyes on. The new goal: To make it to the ocean. They could hotwire a boat, what with Roger's help. At least then they could be free of the land. Maybe in other places it wasn't as bad. Maybe their was someplace safe.

By this time in their travels, most of them knew much better than to think foolish things like that. False hopes corrupted the mind, and if your mind was corrupted, you were just as bad as them. They all might as well have been walking dead than to think of dreams that would never happen and be let down.

* * *

Ralph and Jack halted nearly simultaneously at the head of the weary group, allowing everyone a moments rest. Simon and Marie, by this time eleven and nine, panted to regain their breath. They hadn't had an opportunity to stop since that morning.

"What's going on?" Roger demanded, "Why are we stopping? We're not even ten miles away from Atlanta yet, Ralph. You saw how many of them there were. We'll be lunch at this rate."

The blonde sighed and looked up and down the congested street, trying to make sure that the coast was absolutely clear. Aside from a stray walker off to the side of the woods, there appeared to be nothing.

"We can't keep this up." Ralph finally said, "Not forever. We need to find a place to settle down. I mean, look how far we've traveled! We're all tired Roger, and this constant moving is going to kill us."

"Stopping will kill us twice as fast." Roger growled.

"I agree with Ralph." Jack spoke up matter-of-factly.

"Oh, shut it, Merridew!" Roger retorted, "You always agree with Ralph as long as it's to your benefit!"

"Come on, guys." Simon pleaded from the back of the stand-off, "Don't fight over this. Roger, Ralph's right, but you are too. I think we should put some distance between us and the city before stopping."

"Well, of course." Ralph frowned and glanced at the sun, "I'm not an idiot. I just wanted to bring it up now as a heads-up, so all of us could be on the look out for potential safe places."

"As if." Roger scoffed, "Nothing's safe anymore."

"There might be a place." Ralph insisted.

"Does this mean we're close?" Marie piped up. Everyone turned to her, surprised. She gripped her still-long skirt tightly in her hands in embarrassment. "To the place?" She continued, "To the place everybody is talking about? Are we gonna get there soon?"

Roger frowned too this time. "Maybe, Marie, but I don't think so."

"Yes, Marie," Jack broke in again, uninvited, "We're close."

* * *

The rest of the day was spent moving slowly, picking off stray walkers, searching for supplies, and combing the woods for anything of use. Eventually, Roger convinced the others to make the forests their permanent mode of travel; their footsteps were lighter, there was more food, and there was more of a chance on stumbling across a small town or house that could easily be cleared. In truth though, Ralph only agreed because he hadn't been listening to Roger lately, Jack only agreed because Ralph did, and Simon and Marie only agreed because they had no say in the matter.

As they were traveling well into the darker hours, still poking around for a place to set up watch for the night, a sudden realization came upon Ralph: They hadn't seen a single other soul around since their journey's beginning. Besides the ones who'd died before, of course, like the littluns and….and…

He preferred not to think about that other person. Nobody mentioned it anymore, for fear of opening old wounds that had, for the most part, long since been hastily stitched up for necessity's sake. However, now that his mind was on that track it continued on. Ralph thought about his other friends that didn't make it; like Maurice or Rob. Where were they? Maurice had always been so happy about everything; they could have really used his good spirits in times like this.

A crunching noise to his right broke Ralph out of his musings. He snapped to it, squinting his eyes to get a better look in the shadows of the night-time woods. Two figures danced about, or at least appeared to, not having any solid form or shape.

"What's that sound?" He asked aloud.

An answer came, much to his relief, only a few seconds later, "We had a little friend following us." Roger spoke up, "I figured that he'd be trouble later."

"Okay, that's fine." Ralph sighed.

It was silent for a while after that, albeit the footsteps on the brittle, dry leaf-litter. The sun sank even farther under the sky, and the moon rose in its place. Luckily, it was full, so there was plenty of light remaining to see by. Had it not been for an outburst from Jack, they probably would have continued to walk until morning came again.

"Hey!" He shouted.

"Sh!" Everyone scolded back.

"No, look at that!" He went on, "I think it's a house."

* * *

**So, this is a sucky way to end a chapter, I know, but I couldn't think of anything better.**

**Also, if you're reading this and waiting for a story to be updated, my updating spree has been extended into moday-Tuesday due to easter and parties and bellyaches and stuff.**

**So, uh…yeah. Write ya later. Thanks for following, reviewing, etc! Tis greatly appreciated~~**

**BYEEEEE!**


	13. Freezing

BARTON HOLLOW

CHAPTER TWELVE: freezing.

In the morning, it was freezing. He thought that to himself, the boy, as he watched from the trees. The group was heading into the house now. Would they be safe? Would they make it? He did not know. He only watched and waited and listened as they entered the house, and he warmed his hands in the weak rays of sunlight that began to filter through the leaves. Suddenly, he listed a bit to the side from the weight of his cargo and shook loose a few leaves. He held his breath. Thank God, they hadn't heard.

Don't hold your breath, he scolded himself, you'll need it later.

The boy gripped the stock of his rifle and lowered the barrel of it to be level with the sagging front porch of the little white house. He'd already been through the place a couple times before, leaving everything in place albeit the medicine cabinet. He'd also been watching the group for quite some time now—it was his job. He didn't take it lightly. However, he also couldn't help but feel slightly wistful looking over them. He wished things could be different sometimes. Then he remembered that such thoughts were useless and crushed them in the dirt with his cigarette. He leaped silently from the tree as the door of the house snicked shut and glanced in both directions; up, down, left, right, north, south.

Move, he ordered himself.

So he did.

The only thing he left behind was the clatter of the supplies as he walked, the slight depression of leaves in the trees, and the shapes his body made as he slid through the fine, misty, morning fog. That, and the barely-burning effigy of a wispy entity smothered and crushed into the leaf-litter where he'd fallen from the oak; a cigarette as a warning the the house's new occupants.

I'm here, it said, and I'm always watching.

I always have been.

I always will.

Sincerely...

…...

The group entered the house cautiously. Ralph spun in the new space of the mud room, glancing out the silken curtains into the dawn woods beyond. He couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them here. He wasn't sure whether or not to regard the feeling as true or not, but he did feel it, and he couldn't help but be wary.

"This is a pretty nice place." Jack said the cold morning air within the house. It was air that had long-since stopped moving; it was no longer pushed by man-made heaters or air-conditioners. Simon and Marie hopped about like little birds, turning their heads and bending their torsos around door frames lined in oak molding and coated with a fine dust. Roger tailed them, watchful.

"Do you think it's safe here?" Ralph muttered, half to himself, "Could we stay for a while?"

"The door was locked." Jack mentioned, "Nobody's been here before. It's too far off the main road."

"How do you know?" Ralph asked.

"I just know." Jack scoffed.

"Fine." Ralph said.

They started combing through the place on silent feet, rifling through the pantry and finding plentiful canned goods, searching through the bedrooms and finding warm blankets, things to start fires with, an empty medicine cabinet, an old pool table in the smoking room with the cue ball and the eight ball still set on the table, face up, staring blankly at the popcorn ceiling. Roger glared at them with distrust. Marie took the ivory one in her hands and rolled it about her palms, feeling its cool surface against her skin.

"I've never seen anything like it." She whispered in awe, "Brother, what is this?"

"It's a pool ball." He answered quietly, "That one's the cue. It's used to hit the other ones. See, like this..." He demonstrated by picking up one of the many sticks lying about, being displayed in racks on the wall, and leaning over the table, knocking the eight ball with it. "See."

"How come I've never seen one before?" She asked.

"Because only rich people have them." He explained further, "Look, Marie, this table had a marble inlay. See the little tiles on the wood?"

"Yes," She responded, glancing over to where Roger was pointing, "I see them."

"This table cost a lot of money. This house was probably a vacation home for the people who used it before us; that's why there's so much canned food here. It's such a shame. People buy expensive things and they're never actually around to enjoy them." He sighed louder, "People are so stupid. I don't understand, honestly, why someone would actually invest in something like this...I bet they never used it."

Simon, Jack and Ralph too now leaned over the green, downy surface of the pool table, their breath stirring up dust from the felty surface. Jack frowned and glanced in all the pockets surrounding, becoming more confused by the minute.

"I wonder where all the other balls are." He commented.

"What do you mean?" Roger and Ralph both asked, stopping where they stood and looking up. Marie and Simon were too enraptured in the small, ivory cue ball to notice any of what was being said.

"I mean..." Jack went on, unsure of himself, "There's supposed to be more."

"Yeah, I know." Roger said, "Aren't they in the pockets?"

"No. There's nothing in the pockets."

"That's weird." Ralph laughed, "I wonder where they all went to."

"Maybe they walked away." Jack teased, chuckling at the thought of it.

"That's not funny." Roger intervened, plucking the cue ball from Marie's hands and leaning against the table. He retrieved the eight ball as well, looking over them both with speculative eyes. "There's no dust on the balls. Someone had to have touched them...maybe...it's a message."

"That's stupid." Jack scoffed, "And a real shot in the dark."

"Why else would someone take them?" Roger shot back, "Out here, people don't just take things with them for no reason. Unless these things are somehow edible, I doubt anyone would add the extra wight to their packs...AND just leave everything else here. Think about it, the medicine cabinet int the upstairs bathroom was cleaned out too. I think we should put some consideration into this, guys."

"Hm." Ralph scrunched up his face, and expression of deep thought, "Do you think...it could be..."

"It could be the same person who killed piggy, right." Roger added hastily. Jack sat on the pool table between them, eventually laying down so that he was staring at where the eight ball had been only moments ago.

"The same person who trapped all the walkers underneath the city too..." The red-head put in.

"And the food pack." Roger darkly brought up, "The one with our names on it."

"But why leave the eight ball and the cue ball?" Ralph asked, "What's the point of that? Does it signify the number of people...the number of days they've given us to stay here? What?"

Roger frowned slightly and threw the pieces up individually, letting them spark in the light filtering through the dirty windows. They seemed at once to be planets of their own, orbiting, spinning in a world far apart from ours, collecting their own dust motes and galaxies, devoid of life, full of destiny.

"Have you played pool before, Ralph?" Roger asked suddenly.

"...Once." The blonde responded, "Why?"

"Can you tell me," The darker-haired boy went on, urging in the under-tones of his speech, "What are these two balls used for?"

"Well, the cue ball is used to hit the other ones." Ralph replied, still not quite getting where this was going, "and the eight ball...isn't it...if you hit it into the pockets before the other numbers are in, isn't the game over?"

"Exactly." Roger kept pushing, trying to get their minds working, "So...?"

"We only have those two...so..." Ralph screwed up his face again. He wasn't making any progress.

"It means..."

"Yes?"

"It means that either way we lose." Jack spoke up out of nowhere. Both heads snapped to him, surprised.

"What?" Roger raised an eyebrow, placing both balls back on the table. Simon and Marie eagerly grabbed them back up and started rolling them across the wood floor, knocking them into each other occasionally, smiling with the neatness of their new playthings.

"The other balls aren't in the pockets." Jack expanded, "Someone else, supposedly the 'message giver', has them. That means that our only move is to hit the cue ball into the pockets OR to hit the eight ball into the pockets. Either move, we lose. It's as simple as that." Then, he added very skeptically, "If this actually IS a message instead of just some stupid misunderstanding. If I was trying to convey a message to a bunch of idiots like us, that's what I'd say."

"...I think you're right, Jack." Roger admitted, much to their collective surprise, "Question is, when did we start playing the game?"

"We didn't." Jack picked up, "Whoever hit the cue ball first did."

"Can't we leave the game?" Roger hissed, "Isn't that an option. We don't have to play, you know!"

"You guys are taking this way too seriously." Jack scowled, still looking up at the ceiling, and the wisdom immaculate that had accumulated there in the scraggly popcorn drippings. Roger leaned over him and gripped the table with white knuckles.

"We have to take everything seriously, Jack." He growled, "This isn't a game."

"Really?" Jack laughed darkly, "Isn't it, though?"  
"Stop fighting." Ralph broke it up briskly, starting out of the room, "It doesn't matter anyway. I don't think we have much choice. We're staying in this house and that's that."

Though still steaming underneath in some places, nobody objected.

…...

"Zombie rat! Zombie rat!"

"Idiot, there's no such thing!"

"There could be though, and if there is I bet that rat was one of 'em!"

"Jack, stop scaring her. There's no such thing as Zombie rats! The only thing rats can do is eat and be eaten, they can't turn into zombies!"

"You're just saying that to make her feel better, Roger!" A jeering shout drifted from the house once more, "If people can turn into zombies, rats can too! And if all they do is eat and be eaten, I bet they wouldn't mind changing their diets to human flesh!"

"Eep! Brother, he's scaring me!"

"Oh my God, Jack, there's no zombie rat! See, look—"

"EEEEW! GROSS!" A collective sound, then a girl's shreiks: "Roger, Roger, put it down! Don't eat it, ew! ew, ew, ew, ewie!"

"Aw, man, that's nasty. It was moving and everything..."

"...that means...ZOMBIE ROGER!" A teasing voice laughed devilishly.

"Am not!"

"Are too! You ate that rat, why couldn't you turn on us?!"

"I did not EAT the rat, I bit its neck to kill it!"

"RUN AWAY EVERYONE! HE'S GONNA GET US!"

"Hey, come back here! I'm not a zombie!"

The boy listened to these faint, strange murmurings from outside the dusty windows, sitting in the dew-moistened leaf-litter. He pulled a breath from his cigarette. He watched the wind carry the smoke away. He watched the air for the whispers of creatures and galaxies that he could not see. And he listened, ear pressed to the siding, to the laughter and conversation in the little white house, half-wishing he could be a part of it.

But that's far behind you, he muttered to no one.

Yes, no one muttered back, far behind you. There's no one out here to pity you, or spend the time with you, or make you laugh.

Laughter is for the weak, he tried to convince himself, I am strong. I have to keep this up. I have to watch them. I have to...what am I doing here anyway? I should be doing something else...

Sighing, the clattering boy got to his feet slowly and walked out of sight, through the woods, following an invisible, familiar, much-trodden path only he knew. He dragged his free hand along the bark of trees, he left his lingering scent.

Hauling himself over one last ridge, he broke free of the forest and stood valiantly, the last broken hero, in the hungry wind. Then, after a moments hesitation, he let go of the woods and plunged down into the sloping grass, heading confidently towards the concrete prison that had been nestled there.

You're so close, he thought to no one, just a little further, and this will all be over.

He wished he could send these thoughts to his...friends. Alas, all he had been allowed to leave was the balls on the pool table and his stomped-on cigarettes.


	14. Little House

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Little House

The room on the top floor, that was Roger and Marie's. It was known from the start that it would be, and there was no debating it. There wasn't much space in the little house. There was the kitchen that looked out to the backyard and the dining room and the pool room and the living room, all on the first floor. Then there was the top floor, with a bathroom, a library and a small bedroom. There was a basement too—the entrance was connected to the kitchen—and that was where Jack and Simon and Ralph made their residence. They slept on couches or floors or dusty oriental rugs or wherever they so pleased. Simon didn't take much liking to it, but he felt obliged to stay with the two older boys. What, with Ralph being his adoptive brother and all. Anyways, 'team Roger' could always use the extra ears.

Days often came and went in a terrible manor.

6:00 AM. Roger would wake up and make sure everyone was accounted for in his camp. Fix breakfast for himself. Get a few hours of peace and quiet, enough to mull things over in his head for a while. They couldn't stay here forever, he thought more often than not, and that was clear. Where would they go next? He wished for a map.

8:45 AM. Jack and Ralph would wake. The noise they created from stomping about the creaking floorboards would in turn rouse everyone else still sleeping. A collective breakfast was a noisy affair. A few bowls break. Silverware is thrown haphazardly in the kitchen sink, which had long since stopped being cared for. Roger glances at it on most days. Should he do the dishes?

9:15 AM. Someone brings up the idea of a search party. Whether they search for walkers, supplies, or any survivors at all is up for debate. But it never really mattered much to them. The elder boys needed something to busy their minds with. To get out of the present situation, they would do anything. If they didn't work their trigger fingers on something, they would go mad. Absolutely batty. Jack and Ralph take their leave, half of the times with Roger, half of the times not. It depends on his mood. Regardless, they nearly always return at

11: 30 AM. On the dot.

"What's for lunch?" Jack asks, out of breath and slicked with a sheen of sweat from the heat of mid-spring in Georgia, if that's where they were.

"What are you planning on eating?" Roger questions snidely back.

"I dunno." The red-head replies, running a hand through his hair. He stares at it blankly. "Whatever we have, I suppose."

"That answers your question."

1:00 PM. Everyone has either eaten or abstained to save food on that particular day. Roger tidies up when needed. Ralph and Jack fool about in the pool room with the cue ball and chat idly about things as they used to be. Simon sits in the doorway and watches the sky, as if a day-time meteor would suddenly streak across the air and show him the way. To where, he does not know. Somewhere other than here. Marie sits in her room. Sometimes she cries. Sometimes she plays dolls with the toys the previous occupants have left in the little house.

1:35 PM. Everyone takes their own place in the house. This is the Lonely Hour. This is when everyone thinks.

2:35 PM. Most have had their fill of thinking by now. Simon heads up to Marie's room, telling Roger first, and stares at the dollhouse while she pretends the world is normal. Jack and Ralph talk in the dining room, drawing elaborate maps of the surrounding area as they have explored it. They have never been north. Something about it feels…ominous. Roger joins them and adds his feedback.

5:00 PM. Everyone sits on the porch and stares northward. They ponder on what could be there, but no one ever dares to go there. It might ruin the fantasies. As their mother's used to say: "Lift up the marble, and there could be an adder."

6:00 PM. Everyone heads inside. Ralph and Roger whip something up. If they're lucky, it's Mac-n-cheese. If not, something in a can. There's never any bread unless someone decides to make it. So, there's never any bread. The ingredients sit on the counter nearest to the fridge, which is empty for its uselessness.

7:00 PM. The blinds are drawn. All the lights on the main floor are switched off, to conserve their batteries. Upstairs, a camping lantern shines in the window. "To keep the monsters away", Marie pleads, "or bring the good people in."

"…okay." Roger hesitantly agrees. Just to give her something to hold on to. He never mentions that the good people won't come. That, one time, someone saw that lantern and broke in while she was sleeping. That his body is still in the backyard, and his head is somewhere in the southern part of the forest.

10:00 PM. Simon and Marie are asleep. Jack and Ralph talk to each other across the dark. Roger sits up in bed and tucks Marie's hair back behind her ear. He looks out the window. Everything is silent outside.

11:00 PM. Jack is snoring softly. Ralph flicks on a flashlight and buries himself under the sheets. He pulls a book from the crevices of the couch. It's one of the classics he pulled off of the library shelves. He sometimes goes through a book a night. Tonight, it's _Hamlet._

12:00 PM. Midnight. Ralph is still reading. Before settling in for the night, Roger turns off the camping lantern in the window. The curtains flutter slightly. He pulls his cell-phone from under the pillow and slides it open. There's not very much battery left.

With a sigh, he sets the alarm to: VIBRATE, 6:00 AM, and slides it back under the pillow so that, in the morning, he can switch the lantern back on again before his little sister wakes up.

* * *

**AH! I'm Alive! Sorry for not updating for a while...I've been kind of busy with the end of school and such...but I'm back! I'll updte EPT soon as well, so...yeah.**

**THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW AND ENJOY READING! WRITE YA LATER!**


	15. Split Personalities

Season Two: Summer

Chapter Fouteen: Split Personalities

"We can't stay here much longer." Roger whispered to Simon between passing as everyone milled about the house after lunch, "I don't know where we'll go, but if those two drag their feet too much we're splitting with the group."

Simon blurted out the words quicker than he intended to. "What if we go north."

Roger narrowed his eyes and stalked off.

Around the corner in the poolroom, Ralph and Jack knocked the cue and eight from opposite ends of the table. They didn't look at each other, but their reflective blue eyes traded information without having to. Clinking, the opalescent spheres bounced off of each other and rolled lazily across the felty green surface of the table. Jack watched their movements with the utmost of intensities, focusing his trained glare on them until it appeared almost as if he was the one who moved their forms; not by strength, but by sheer willpower.

"I think we should split with these idiots." He spoke up, keeping his voice just low enough so Roger couldn't hear it in the other room.

"Really?" Ralph muttered with disinterest, "Why?"

"Why not?" Jack scoffed, lifting himself to sit on the edge of the marble inlay of the frame of the pool table. "Plus...I have a bad feeling about Roger."

"So It wasn't just me." Ralph murmured. "I have a bad feeling about you too, you know. Simon was telling me that..."

"I don't care." Jack interrupted hastily, "Are you with me, or are you with Roger and his little band of misfits?"

"I'm not sure." Ralph sighed.

"Well, I think Roger's been pulling our leg this whole time. What if he's the one who left that pack there, and he's the one who took the other pool balls. After all, he is the only one who cared when I mentioned it." Jack urged, "He could've killed piggy too."

Ralph blew out an angry breath. "So? You could've done it for all I know."

"Are you in?" Jack insisted furiously, "Are we going to leave this dump or not? I can't stand all these asinine pricks. The children are just weighing us down. We could've been at the ocean by now."

"...Let me think about it." Ralph replied. Then, slow and weary, he pushed himself to his feet from where he crouched over the table and left the room. On his way out, he just barely missed knocking Simon over. The smaller boy clasped his hands together near his chest, holding his breath as if it would make him invisible.

"Hey, Si." Ralph muttered haphazardly.

"Ralph." Simon swallowed. "How are things?"

"Good. I'm going to take a nap. See ya."

"See you."

As soon as Simon's adoptive older brother was out of sight, Simon raced up the stairs and burst into Roger and Marie's room, startling them both from the task of going through their backpacks.

"Jack and Ralph are planning to leave!" He quickly got out, "And Jack's trying to convince Ralph that you killed Alex!"

Roger narrowed his eyes angrily. Two red slits of liquid, churning fury. Marie pretended she hadn't heard and shuffled through old blankets and clothes nervously, rolling up a woolen sheet with tiny fingers. It's grey and scratchy surface was unworn; not once had they used it this year, as it was only for the coldest of times. Sighing, Roger stood up and glanced out the window.

"That's dangerous." he hissed.

"What?" Simon panted.

"It's dangerous to be plotting against each other like this." Roger repeated, expanding a bit on his former idea, "This is going to hurt as all...or worse, get us all killed. Which leaves us with two choices: We can either confront them about it, or we could leave it where it lies and just wait for those two nits to get out of our lives."

"But what about Alex?" Simon asked quietly, "Isn't that dangerous t-"

"-I don't want to hear his damn name." Roger cut Simon off with an angered growl, whirling to face the younger boy. Venom seemed to pour from his eyes now, dripping from his voice like it was overflowing from his very being. "I thought we left him behind years ago. Or is he still here with us? Tell me Simon, do you trust me or do you trust them?"

Simon steeled himself. "I trust you. Whatever you did, you did for the best."

"Good answer." Roger muttered, replacing himself on the wooden floor with Marie, folding an old school shirt with practiced hands without even taking his eyes off of Simon. The younger boy shuddered. "Now, I want you to keep listening to them. We need to know what they're planning so we can keep smart about this situation. I don't want anyone to get hurt unless absolutely nessacery."

"Yes, sir." Simon promised.

"Good."

"Hey, Simon?" Marie piped up from the floor, breaking her plea of silence. Both older boys looked to her in mild astonishment. So, she had a voice to speak with after all. As always, her input was duly noted.

"Yes?" Simon frowned. "What is it?"

"I don't want them to leave." She said plainly, "I want them to be safe; with us." Roger and Simon exchanged a glance; so much could be communicated in just one look. This look seemed to say it all. To Simon it communicated Roger's leeriness of the future, and something else that the leader of their little half-team could not express in words. To Roger it communicated Simon's near-helplessness at what surely lay ahead.

"I don't want them to leave either, Marie." Roger responded at last, "But people like them need to learn. Maybe if they try to rough it out on their own they'll learn how hard it is. Then maybe they'll come back smarter and better at surviving. Or, maybe they'll go out there and get themselves killed. Either way, the world would be better if they went away. Idiots can't last out here, Marie. You need to learn that, and get smarter. That's all we can do, is adapt and stay together. If any of us split, we're all done for."

"Really?" Simon asked.

"Yes." Roger replied, screwing up his face in though while rubbing a square of fabric in his calloused fingers. "We need each other, all of us. Now, just so you know, I'm not saying that out of love. I'm saying that out of necessity." Roger looked Simon square in the eyes and told him harshly: "If you do something to put this group in danger, if any of you do something to put us in danger, I will kill you. Just remember that."

In spite of Roger's grim warning, Simon stood up a little taller. He wasn't afraid of Roger. He knew by now that the elder boy put up this kind of front often. Or, maybe it wasn't front...but, either way, it wasn't scary anymore. Just motivating.

"I'm doing my best." Simon said, clenching his hands into little fists.

"I know. Just leave us alone for a bit. I need to think some things out." Roger waved him off, "And thanks for telling me, Si."

"You welcome!"

"Yeah. Whatever."

With that, Simon marched off, back down the stairs, more determined than ever to do his part in their little group. He was going to be the best spy the world ever saw...well, that the world never saw, considering there was probably not much of a world left to see it. But, on the bright side, there were less people to impress now. It was easier to climb to the top of whatever ladder you were climbing when everyone else was already dead.

* * *

So they're both planning on leaving the other then? The boy frowned to himself as he said this fact aloud, as if to confirm it with the invisible no-one beside him. The ghost of something that had never existed in the first place. Quietly, using extra caution after his incident when they first arrived, the boy leaned back against the trunk of the tree he was reclining in. He swung his legs up on the branches and looked into the blue sky longingly through his sunshine eyes. Two reflections of summer itself. Two golden-orange pools of skewed wisdom, whispered by a snake-like voice that never left him alone. Even with his eyes closed, he still heard it. Mocking him.

_You owe me one, you hear? This is how you'll repay me. After this, you're free to go._

Just after this...where would he go?

Not to the prison, that's for sure. Those people didn't even know that he existed. Of course, that was all the better. The boy did not want to leave even a trace of his existence. According to the voice, he wasn't worth the time. Not worth the space. After this job, nobody would even care anymore.

Well, I guess it's just better that way. The boy said, downtrodden by his own line of thought.

Sighing, he opened his eyes again and reached for a little booklet swinging from his belt. He unlatched it from the ties and brought the pages to where he could see them; then, with practiced fingers, he took out the pen strapped to the side and opened to the correct pages and began to write down everything he had seen that day.


End file.
